Completion of SDLT form??

sazzyb

Hi

I know there is lots of info on this forum re: SDLT forms, but have had a look through them and can't actually find the answer to my (what seems like) stupid question.

My OH and I are FTB, purchasing leasehold property @ 99,950.

Solicitor is charging £70 + VAT for "Completion of SDLT form".

Not only does this seem REALLY steep, but as we're not having to pay SDLT cos we're under threshold, do we even have to complete an SDLT form???

If so, isn't £70 + VAT rather steep??

Is there any way of getting around this/cutting the cost of this at all??

Any help much appreciated.

Bargain_Rzl

Yes, the form still has to be submitted even though SDLT is not payable.

I would imagine it's possible to do it yourself but it is very complex and solicitors are experienced in doing it, which you presumably are not.

Having said that, my solicitor made so many errors on mine that I ended up on the phone to the SDLT office sorting it out myself... (though mine was more complicated than yours, being in the £125k-£150k bracket with Disadvantaged Areas Relief).

sazzyb

Thank you. I should have known HMRC would need the form anyway!

Looks like it's a charge we've just got to allow for.

golfnutt

Yes you still have to complete a SDLT form.

This is taken from the SDLT web site.

The Law Society’s guidance to date has been to charge £50 + VAT per SDLT form that you complete on your clients behalf. You, acting as agent are offering a service. What you are offering when using ‘SDLT.co.uk’ is part of that service, thus either charge the client £55 + VAT or absorb the £5 per matter, knowing that the time wasted and money lost with rejected manually filled in forms more than outweighs the minimal cost of using ‘SDLT.co.uk’.

Hope this helps.

http://www.sdlt.co.uk/index.php?action=details

CB1979_2

i was going to complete mine myself, as my sol was going to charge £100 + VAT! :eek:

started looking through it and ended up getting a more local solicitor to do it for £30

just ring up a couple of firms and ask them if they complete the SDLT form and how much

tstodart

My solicitor gave me the option of completing it myself (at my risk).

I would say it is probably not so difficult to complete, even though there are a lot of pages.

Maybe 1-2 hours work to read the instructions, complete, double check and make a photocopy for yourself?

In the whole scheme of things, maybe £70 + VAT is not much when you are spending £100K, but not a bad saving for a couple of hours work.

Instructions can be found on the hmrc website.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/sdlt6.pdf

olly300

tstodart wrote: »

My solicitor gave me the option of completing it myself (at my risk).

Even if the solicitor completes it for you it is at YOUR RISK. This means if the solicitor completes it incorrectly HMRC chases you not the solicitor (see Bargain Rzl's post.)

Solicitors put a clause in their contract with you stating this.

Jonbvn

golfnutt wrote: »

Yes you still have to complete a SDLT form.

This is taken from the SDLT web site.

The Law Society’s guidance to date has been to charge £50 + VAT per SDLT form that you complete on your clients behalf. You, acting as agent are offering a service. What you are offering when using ‘SDLT.co.uk’ is part of that service, thus either charge the client £55 + VAT or absorb the £5 per matter, knowing that the time wasted and money lost with rejected manually filled in forms more than outweighs the minimal cost of using ‘SDLT.co.uk’.

Hope this helps.

http://www.sdlt.co.uk/index.php?action=details

I just checked my house purchase details. I paid my solicitor GBP58.75 including VAT for completing this form in August last year. This equates to GBP50+VAT as noted bhy golfnutt.

Richard_Webster

I believe completing this form is part of dealing with the conveyancing and firms that charge extra can cause people to think that their fee level is lower than it really is.

Whenever you look at online quotes etc you should look at "terms & conditions" or "further information" pages to check that they haven't hidden the cost of this away somewhere. Same thing with quotes over the phone - wait for the written estimate and look at all the small print!

The actual charges for the various extras can add to quite a bit more than the initial headline "Fee for conveyancing on a freehold purchase".

Other extras to look for are:

Charge for acting for lender - theoretically a separate piece of work - but most people don't relaise this so it is confusing!

Professional Indemnity Contribution (to pay for the professional negligence insurance!)

Leasehold charge - this is especially rich if it is a long leasehold house where there is very little extra work than for freehold. Flats do involve extra work but the initial charge should be higher to allow for this.

Expedited completion fee - I have seen some firms that charge more if you want to complete inless than 3 weeks from exchange - which is unfair as 2 weeks is about average for most transactions.

Postages, telephone calls, and photocopying and petty incidentals - How can a firm do conveyancing without making phone calls, using stamps etc? These charges are rarely related to actual use but simply a random extra £50 plus VAt or whatever. It would be reasonable to charge extra for international calls - but how often do they occur in a conveyancing transaction when we have e-mail?

As a conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful but I accept no liability except to fee-paying clients.

Jonbvn

golfnutt wrote: »

Yes you still have to complete a SDLT form.

This is taken from the SDLT web site.

The Law Society’s guidance to date has been to charge £50 + VAT per SDLT form that you complete on your clients behalf. You, acting as agent are offering a service. What you are offering when using ‘SDLT.co.uk’ is part of that service, thus either charge the client £55 + VAT or absorb the £5 per matter, knowing that the time wasted and money lost with rejected manually filled in forms more than outweighs the minimal cost of using ‘SDLT.co.uk’.

Hope this helps.

http://www.sdlt.co.uk/index.php?action=details

I just checked my house purchase details. I paid my solicitor GBP58.75 including VAT for completing this form in August last year. This equates to GBP50+VAT as noted bhy golfnutt.

Sorry for the double post! Damn mouse!