We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Avoiding Stamp Duty
richr74
Posts: 44 Forumite
Hi there,
I dont have much experience on this because i am a first time buyer but i have recently found out that from Jan 2010 the stamp duty for a property over £125k is now 1%.
I have found a house i am very interested in which is up for £132k so i hoping to get it for about £123k to £128k but now i know about this stamp duty i am not so keen on paying more than the £125k. Assuming i end up getting the house for £126k to £128k then what can i do?
My girlfriends parents told us that there is a way around paying this 'rip off' fee by saying that you are paying £125k for the house and then say £1k to £3k for the shed or something like that.
Any idea's as it seems silly to be paying stamp duty just for paying that few thousand pounds over the threshold.
Thanks
I dont have much experience on this because i am a first time buyer but i have recently found out that from Jan 2010 the stamp duty for a property over £125k is now 1%.
I have found a house i am very interested in which is up for £132k so i hoping to get it for about £123k to £128k but now i know about this stamp duty i am not so keen on paying more than the £125k. Assuming i end up getting the house for £126k to £128k then what can i do?
My girlfriends parents told us that there is a way around paying this 'rip off' fee by saying that you are paying £125k for the house and then say £1k to £3k for the shed or something like that.
Any idea's as it seems silly to be paying stamp duty just for paying that few thousand pounds over the threshold.
Thanks
0
Comments
-
Basically, anyone offering a house for sale just over the stamp duty threshold is looking for offers OF a penny under the threshold, so that should be your upper limit, start much lower and work up to that. As an indicator, the house we bought 7 months ago was up at £155k and we paid £114k, so there are deals out there to be done.
I seriously doubt you'll get away with the old £2k on curtains and carpets rubbish now as well I'm afraid!0 -
Thanks for your reply. Thought as much but just wanted to check if there were any sneaky ways around it. Its not like we havent got enough to pay out with the other fees.
Was thinking the same thing about working up and agreeing a price just under the £125k and thought i may offer about £116k to begin with and hopefully we can meet in the middle.0 -
It isn't easy to get away with the old £2k for curtains/shed/whatever these days as the authorities are onto that one. Your sellers would have to complete a form stating how the price was arrived at, and produce receipts for the original purchase price, to show the second hand valuation was fair. TBH second hand goods are worth very little so you'd be hard pressed to prove the extras were worth £2k.
Your best bet, as others have said is to aim to buy the place for just under the stamp duty threshold. That is what they will be expecting, if they have any sense.I'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.0 -
There are hundreds on threads on here about Stamp Duty
However, you only pay 1% stamp duty on any transaction that happens OVER £125,000, for example it kicks in at £125,001.My home is usually the House Buying, Renting and Selling Forum where I can be found trying to (sometimes unsucessfully) prove that not all Estate Agents are crooks. With 20 years experience of Sales/Lettings and having bought and sold many of my own properties I've usually got something to say
Ignore......check!0 -
Sorry but couldnt find any threads on it in the last few weeks since it has changed. It wouldnt have been a problem prior to 31st Dec because we are only looking at houses under £140k and it was exempt then.0
-
There has been stamp duty in existence for many many years! It's irrelevant what price point it kicks it at, the rules on what you can and cannot legitimately pay extra for have not changed in January 2010. Run another search.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0
-
I do not need to explain why i posted my thread. If you do not wish to help because there has been an answer to this in another thread then i would rather you just didnt answer as it is a waste of both yours and my time. Thanks.0
-
""I do not need to explain why i posted my thread. If you do not wish to help because there has been an answer to this in another thread then i would rather you just didnt answer as it is a waste of both yours and my time. Thanks."
how rude....
"" I do not need to explain why i posted my thread""
you posted this thread to find out how to avoid paying tax... you have been advised its not possible to pay £2k for a shed.... dont take your grumpiness out on folks here who take time to offer genuine assistance.....0 -
""I do not need to explain why i posted my thread. If you do not wish to help because there has been an answer to this in another thread then i would rather you just didnt answer as it is a waste of both yours and my time. Thanks."
how rude....
"" I do not need to explain why i posted my thread""
you posted this thread to find out how to avoid paying tax... you have been advised its not possible to pay £2k for a shed.... dont take your grumpiness out on folks here who take time to offer genuine assistance.....
As you can see, i have thanked the people who have helped but the threads just saying that i can look elsewhere dont help me at all. I was meant to reply directly to those people and not everyone.0 -
As you can see, i have thanked the people who have helped but the threads just saying that i can look elsewhere dont help me at all. I was meant to reply directly to those people and not everyone.
My reply was helpful and you didn't thank me
My home is usually the House Buying, Renting and Selling Forum where I can be found trying to (sometimes unsucessfully) prove that not all Estate Agents are crooks. With 20 years experience of Sales/Lettings and having bought and sold many of my own properties I've usually got something to say
Ignore......check!0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.4K Spending & Discounts
- 247.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.4K Life & Family
- 261.6K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards