Urgent! Please help MSE test new Stamp Duty tool

kidcat

Worked great for me, using firefox

silvertree

works for me!

James_N

bugeyed wrote: »

I disagree entirely. I found the page very informative for all types of people. The full explanation of all the rates on the page, advance notice of a rate change and a calculator handy to just click rather than reach for a seperate item or launch calculator on your screen makes life simpler, which is always good.
It would be all too easy to think you only have to pay 1% and get a nasty shock further down the road if you are liable to pay 3%. Also you can see that asking for the price to be reduced from £251,000 to £249,999 for a first time buyer would save you £7350 as an example. Maybe you could offer to buy the kettle seperately for £1001 if the seller really wants £251,000 thereby saving on tax

Trying to buy a kettle for £1000 will only attract the very unwelcome attention of the Inland Revenue for tax fraud. SepArate transactions can only work if they are also realistic. BTW - the tax boundary is £250,000.

Perhaps if a buyer is this naive, and needs this amount of help, they shouldn't really be buying a house in the first place.

Secret_Lady

Working fine for me....

James_N

Cannon_Fodder wrote: »

Apparently you needed help a couple of weeks ago, James. You didn't go to the HMRC website and work it out for yourself.

Maybe your maths is stronger than others, just as others' reading and comprehension ability appears to be stronger than yours.

I can do simple percentages on my own, but in matters of interpretation asked for (and took) advice.

But I am glad you got that off your chest, I hope you feel better now.

tabskitten

Useful tool Dan!

atypical

If you put in £125,000 you get the message:
"You are buying a property for less than £125,000, so will not have to pay stamp duty!"

Which isn't strictly true.

Also the article (what are the rate boundaries section) and calculator has the boundaries slightly wrong. As it's written now you have a column for '£125,000 - £250,000' and then '£250,000 - £500,000'. That puts £250,000 in both columns; the second column should start at £250,001 (or is it £250,000.01? ).

The calculator has the thresholds right in the calculation, but the explanation wording wrong.

edit: Just noticed that it's explained in detail under the table. No harm in adding the penny on the table is there? Or just using '>'.

Pip26

Worked for me using Internet Explorer and entering £245,000 not first time buyer.

Thanks.

Fire_Fox

James_N wrote: »

I completely fail to see the need to use this.

I am sure you would love for people to be so negative about something you have spent ages preparing with the sole aim of helping others. Cannon Fodder addressed your confusion and you were negative AGAIN.

Richard_Webster

You have forgotten disadvantaged areas where regardless of where or not they are FTBs the threshold for residential property is £150,000.

Also about when to pay SDLT you point out that there is a 30 day time limit and say:

In reality, your solicitor will probably sort this out and push you to pay the bill straight away. It’s also likely to guide you through the process, but in case it doesn’t...

The point is that mortgage lenders require solicitors to secure the registration of the borrower as registered proprietor at the Land Registry and therefore we have to have the money for the SDLT before completion so we can pay it. If I didn't have it I would refuse to complete so unless the buyer is a cash buyer the 30 days doesn't help the buyer's cash flow one bit because the solicitor must have the cash before completion.