Paying Stamp Duty to HMRC

beefturnmail

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1387185

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4759553

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/mortgages/10815633/Rise-in-rogue-lawyers-pocketing-stamp-duty-payments.html

See links above. I understand the risk is small, but given the costs I would not want to carry even a small risk, if avoidable (certainly more important than the colour to paint the walls). Looks like this is not avoidable though as I will have a mortgage.

If I don't pay tax giving money to a solicitor any more than giving money to a man in the pub, then is the same also true for income tax which my employer pays HMRC for me?

00ec25

beefturnmail wrote: »

If I don't pay tax giving money to a solicitor any more than giving money to a man in the pub, then is the same also true for income tax which my employer pays HMRC for me?

different situation - an employer is legally required to operate PAYE if they employ anyone AND the amount paid to the employee is above the PAYE threshold
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/getting-started/register.htm
the liability for paying over the tax is therefore the employer's not the employee's

for SDLT the legal liability is yours not the solicitors

davidmcn

beefturnmail wrote: »

See links above. I understand the risk is small, but given the costs I would not want to carry even a small risk, if avoidable

You're undertaking many other risks by buying a property. This is a relatively obscure one, and unlike some other potential problems, one where you should at least get reimbursed (as you'll see from the stories you've cited).

beefturnmail

Thanks to helpful responders. Yes, I'm well aware that there are other risks in buying a property but that's no reason not to try to remove the risks which can be removed\reduced.

This is a relatively obscure risk, but a potentially costly one that appears to be easily mitigated by the simple expedient of requesting a copy of the SDLT form and checking with HMRC direct. Maybe I'm over-cautious but I'd much rather spend a small amount of time and effort doing this then take the risk (however small) of receiving an unexpected £10k bill from HMRC, at some arbitrary point in the future, finding out my solicitor has gone bust and then having to go through the hassle of claiming back through a compensation service!

dominoman

beefturnmail wrote: »

Thanks to helpful responders. Yes, I'm well aware that there are other risks in buying a property but that's no reason not to try to remove the risks which can be removed\reduced.

Given the miniscule percentage of cases that go wrong, I would consider it a much higher risk to attempt to complete and pay the stamp duty yourself.

ReadingTim

dominoman wrote: »

Given the miniscule percentage of cases that go wrong, I would consider it a much higher risk to attempt to complete and pay the stamp duty yourself.

Or indeed the risk of being hit by a bus/lightning/meteorite, although the OP could also mitigate these risks by not leaving the house....

MobileSaver

beefturnmail wrote: »

Maybe I'm over-cautious

Yes, you are.

laidbackgjr

I would also add - the SDLT form is not simple to complete, if you make a mistake filling it in, then you are also liable for fines from HMRC. I would rather use a solicitor to complete the form (then any errors on the form would be the solicitors responsibility) and carry the risk of the solicitor doing a runner with the money (which is pretty small, especially if you use a reputable solictors), than carry the risk of making an error on the form myself.

beefturnmail

Thanks again to helpful responders

dominoman wrote: »

Given the miniscule percentage of cases that go wrong, I would consider it a much higher risk to attempt to complete and pay the stamp duty yourself.

If you had bothered to read my last post you'd see that I wasn't suggesting doing this, but rather requesting a copy of the SDLT form from the Solicitor and then double checking with HMRC that it had been paid.

(I'm also not that convinced it could not be completed without error by a non-solicitor. After all I complete Self Assessment Tax returns, but I think requesting copy of the form is enough for peace of mind).

beefturnmail

ReadingTim wrote: »

Or indeed the risk of being hit by a bus/lightning/meteorite, although the OP could also mitigate these risks by not leaving the house....

A terrible analogy. Not leaving my house would be a much more major inconvenience to me then requesting a copy of a SDLT from a Solicitor and then double checking with HMRC. I mitigate the risks you describe, by looking when crossing the road and not playing golf in thunderstorms, which is about as much inconvenience as making a couple of phonecalls. The analogy you have given is equivalent to me suggesting mitigating the risk of Solicitor not paying SDLT, by not buying a house (which I did not do).