Fixtures and fittings stamp duty loophole.

pararct

RedwoodBrook wrote: »

So you're an !!!!!! to everyone huh? Glad you're not my landlord!

I'm glad this thread has come to light as it bears some relevance to the house Ive just 'purchased'. The previous owner passed away and it has been sold to us as she left it - full of her worldly possessions. Given that what we have 'paid' is just above a threshold, I might ask my solicitor to look into this.

Doubt you will get much joy mate but no harm trying.

The solicitor will always err on the side of the tax laws as they would also be subject to investigation. TBH very few will entertain fixture and fittings negations close to the thresholds if there is a suspicion there is an intent to evade tax.

vacheron

As a FTB buying a house in the 3% band last year I was faced with the prospect of paying £8,200 or nothing in stamp duty! :mad: , so I obviously looked into ways of doing the same thing.
In the end I ran a couple of ideas past my solicitor and he advised with " I really wouldn't risk that if I were you", therefore I opted to grin and bear the cost and keep things above board.

I completely agree though that the stamp duty jump between £249,999 and £250,000 is extremely unfair, especially to first time buyers (although I would say that wouldn't I!)

brit1234

vacheron wrote: »

I completely agree though that the stamp duty jump between £249,999 and £250,000 is extremely unfair, especially to first time buyers (although I would say that wouldn't I!)

If you can afford £250k + as a first time buyer I think it is fair you pay stamp duty. You must be on about £70K + a year.

I hate tax dodgers, it just means us honest people have to pay more.

JQ.

£5,000 in a house worth £130,000 - never in a million years. £5,000 in a £250k house is a serious stretch but can be possible. If you can't afford it don't buy the house. It's not a loophole, it's tax evasion a criminal offence.

vacheron

brit1234 wrote: »

If you can afford £250k + as a first time buyer I think it is fair you pay stamp duty. You must be on about £70K + a year.

I hate tax dodgers, it just means us honest people have to pay more.

Sorry to spoil your preconceptions, but don't even earn half of what you suggest. I saved hard from leaving uni at 21 earning 13k/year to when I bought last year at 36. During these 15 years i took all the overtime I could get and avoided "you know what"-ing money up the wall like those around me.

On the occasions when my 50-60 hour weeks took me into the top tax bracket I was taxed 40% on my salary and also 40% on the pitiful interest I was getting on my house savings which I declared to IR. Those 15 years of hard work resulted in a house fund of over 200k of which I paid 85k (equal to 6 years of savings) as a 30% deposit then had to pay 6 months of savings as stamp duty. I put the rest in an offset mortgage which means that if I lose my job I won't qualify for any means tested benefits because I'll have too many "savings".

You don't need to imagine the sympathy I give to people my age who are earning more than me and complaining that there are no 95% mortgages for them any more!

JQ.

Vacheron, if only all FTB's were as sensible as you.

theartfullodger

Well, some reaction to my earlier post...

Hopefully anyone evading tax will be nicked and fined shedloads, have days of their time wasted and fail to get through 't pearly gates as and when..


And the other party (seller presumably..??) will know the crook ain't to be trusted, are on the fiddle and will treat them with the greatest suspicion. Expect great difficulties and quite likely fiddling back to you sunshine.. Me, I don't do business if at all possible with crooks, cheats & bigots - if I know that;s what they are...

Old asbestos garage eh?? Blimey, health hazard according to many...
.......

firstly...

TehJumpingJawa wrote: »

Wow, I genuinely thought this community was better than that.
I guess trolls prosper everywhere.

........

& then...

RedwoodBrook wrote: »

So you're an !!!!!! to everyone huh? Glad you're not my landlord!

..........

Wow! Been posting here for some time but never, as far as I recall, been described as a "troll" or "an !!!!!!" before...well, takes all sorts eh?? Now, why such a strong reaction?? Discussing this it was pointed out to me that such reaction is entirely consistent with people who fiddle their taxes habitually.. Nah, surely not, thought not, can't be true...

Interestingly at time of typing 4 others had "thanked" me for my original comments, so some others appear to think similarly to me.. (contrast the other comments quoted above..)

Oh, and Jawa, if you think Scottish law will always prevent people pulling out late I fear you're ignorant in that department also..

Cheers & best wishes to all my readers, including those who disagree with me..

Artful

GDB2222

Can anyone explain why a typical 'fixtures and fittings list' has tick boxes for such items as greenhouses and plants? People here have stated categorically that these are part of the house, but if so why is it an option to exclude them from the sale?

devotee

My solicitor has informally told me that you can ask £5000 for fixtures and fittings. Any more is classed unreasonable. And no, not buying anything close to the stamp duty threshold before anyone accuses me of that.

My fridge costs over £1k and my cooker is well over £1k, so if I were selling my place and it was close to the stamp duty threshold that would be easy to incorporate.

pararct

devotee wrote: »

My solicitor has informally told me that you can ask £5000 for fixtures and fittings. Any more is classed unreasonable. And no, not buying anything close to the stamp duty threshold before anyone accuses me of that.

My fridge costs over £1k and my cooker is well over £1k, so if I were selling my place and it was close to the stamp duty threshold that would be easy to incorporate.

That must be some kitchen you have there :rotfl:

What else can your fridge do then other than keep your food chilled?