Can I instruct my Solicitor that I will pay Stamp Duty myself within 30 days?

[Deleted User]

Hi do I have to pay Stamp Duty to my Solicitor when I purchase the house and complete or can I pay the HMRC myself within the 30 days period? My Solicitor has sent all the paperwork through including the charge for Stamp Duty but I would like to pay that ourselves once we move in within the 30 days time limit.
If so how do I do that?

Edi81

Will you have a mortgage on the property?

I think that if there is a mortgage lender involved it is one of their requirements to have the stamp duty money with the solicitor prior to them releasing funds. It's somewhere in the CML Handbook if I recall.

kingstreet

It is.

30 day grace period applies to cash purchases only.

A mortgage purchase sees the solicitor needing all purchase funds cleared in their account prior to completion.

[Deleted User]

Yes I will have a mortgage on the property. I will check with the solicitor then.

kingstreet

Post four for the CML Handbook entry;-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/64455760#Comment_64455760

G_M

The problem is your choice of solicitor.

Any half decent solicior would include submitting the SDLT form within their basic fee since it is an inherant part of the conveyancing process.

Cut-price cheap conveyancers exclude this (and other things) from their basix fee in order to make their quoted fees look cheaper, and thus win business. They then add on supplements (like the SDLT form) to the final bill.

System

G_M wrote: »

The problem is your choice of solicitor.

Any half decent solicior would include submitting the SDLT form within their basic fee since it is an inherant part of the conveyancing process.

Cut-price cheap conveyancers exclude this (and other things) from their basix fee in order to make their quoted fees look cheaper, and thus win business. They then add on supplements (like the SDLT form) to the final bill.

I don't think the OP is talking about the SDLT submission form but the actual SDLT itself

[Deleted User]

Asked my Solicitor and she said ideally they want the stamp duty on the day I complete but also did say that legally I have 30 days to pay up to avoid fines.
Going to ask the mortgage company what their view is?

trailingspouse

If I could pay it myself directly to HMRC I would - we bought our house about a year ago through Action Conveyancing (I know, I know, but we'd been living abroad and hadn't heard of either ARC or Action. We lived not far from their offices and even went to see them, they seemed perfectly professional).

Turns out they didn't pay our stamp duty to HMRC. We've had a letter from HMRC warning us that they may have to come back to us for the payment, after they've made their enquiries into Action. In our case, it's not a huge amount (£2000 ish) and if we had to we could afford to pay it, but obviously that would be a last resort as we've already paid it once!!

Would much rather pay HMRC direct, as at least I know I would do it!!

Richard_Webster

Going to ask the mortgage company what their view is?

Who in the mortgage company are you going to ask? This is so technical that the average person in a branch office wouldn't even understand the question!

They leave all this detail to the solicitors they in instruct who in turn are bound by the CML Handbook.

Registration of the title is dependent on a SDLT return being obtained from HMRC. You do not have to pay the SDLT for 30 days but the solicitors are going to want to make sure that they will definitely be able to pay it within that period. Lender will expect solicitor to make sure he has the money to pay the SDLT. Solicitor will not want to subsidise a client who "forgets" to give him the money - because lender will expect solicitor to do that.

[Deleted User]

My mortgage advisor has already replied its not a issue for them and should be no concern to solicitor as it's my tax bill to pay.