Since the 25th March 2010 First Time Buyers of residential property have been able to apply for Stamp Duty Land Tax relief if the consideration (money) passing for the property is £250,000.00 or less.
This applies where the buyer intends to live in the property and that it will be their main private residence. This also only applies if any of the parties to the purchase have not previously owned property or land in the UK or anywhere else in the world. This includes property purchased with someone else, ie., properties purchased as co-owners.
The date on which Stamp Duty Relief is available for First Time Buyers is due to cease on the 24th March 2012. Therefore, purchase property transactions must complete on or before this date to take advantage of Stamp Duty Relief.
After this date, Stamp Duty will become payable at 1% of the purchase price if the consideration (money) falls between £125,001.00 and £250,000.00, irrespective of whether the purchasers are First Time Buyers or not.
Property transactions with a consideration of up to £125,000.00 will not attract any Stamp Duty (as far as we know at the time of this blog).
It is therefore critical that all instructions received, to comply with the date for which Stamp Duty Relief could be sought, are made at least six weeks before this date. To this end, we would urge any potential buyer looking to take advantage of the Stamp Duty Relief to instruct solicitors as soon as possible.
Any transaction could, due to problems arising anywhere in the chain, become protracted and take longer to reach completion than expected. Even if you are ready, the upper chain may not be and therefore anyone wishing to claim Stamp Duty Relief should be aware that Stamp Duty could become payable if completion does not take place on or before the 24th March 2012.
If you have any Conveyancing needs and would like to discuss them with a member of our specialist team, please contact either Tom Caterer or Freya Buckley on 01234 858000 for a free no obligation chat/quote.
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