Stamp duty reforms from midnight tonight.

joehoover

Mortgage_Mark wrote: »

If you've exchanged contracts but not yet completed, you can choose whether to pay under the old or new calculation, so that nobody misses out.

They completed yesterday, just think had there been more whisperings about it they could have held off a couple of days...I suppose you know what you were paying but very frustrating for them to think they could have had this extra cash in their pockets, it's always needed

mumbles87

I phoned my lawyer as soon as I saw the news, she confirmed we will be entitled to it. 4k saved. That will go very far in the house budget.

SailorSam

I can't see the changes in Stamp Duty being any big deal. The only people who are going to benefit are those that are planning to buy a house. Lets face it how often do we do that. I've been here about 8yrs now and got no intention of moving in the near future. My previous house i lived in for about 25yrs. Although a change like the one announced today will be a nice little bonus, if i only get it once every 25yrs i think 1p off a gallon of petrol would mean more financially.

Jhoney_2

MercilessKiller wrote: »

They have kind of done that though - 2% of 20k for example is only £200

No I mean more, e.g there are x amount of FTB (not me), the upper x £1 or 2m buyers will pay in X generating Y - therefore use this to reduce FTB threshold further.

Heisenberg87_2

Me and my partner are currently first time buyers and this would save us around £1000 which is fantastic but I still feel though a lot more could be down for the first time buyer. I am in know way a finical expert but I would suggest no Stamp Duty if it was your first property.

haigez

seems already be said, but still want to confirm. We exchanged this morning and the completion is in two weeks time. Will the new rate apply to us?
To good to be true and can not wait until tomorrow to check with my solicitor:-)

Many thanks,

mumbles87

haigez wrote: »

seems already be said, but still want to confirm. We exchanged this morning and the completion is in two weeks time. Will the new rate apply to us?
To good to be true and can not wait until tomorrow to check with my solicitor:-)

Many thanks,

check with your lawyer, I checked with mine apparently so long as completion is after the 4th december you can take advantage of either rate (obviously if you were buying a mansion you would take the current rate all day long) but normal people like us will take the new rate ta

lalab3

So im currently in the process of buying at £590000
So would I pay £19500 as stamp duty now in comparison to
£23,600?!!!! Really?! A saving of £4100!!!!

PeacefulWaters

At last stamp duty has become more logical. Why chancellor after chancellor has failed to deal with this over the decades I don't know.

Osbourne deserves credit for:

1. Keeping it secret. Like he did with pensions and ISA limits. This prevents a distortion to the housing market such as Lawson's double MIRAS abolition in 1988.

2. Managing to introduce a mansion tax of sorts, undermining his political opponents.

3. Making a tax that was hugely unfair in places fairer. Unless you're buying a very expensive property.

4. Removing a chunk of the excessive tax that Gordon Brown brought in at the £250k level that massively hurt "ordinary" people buying a home.

5. Making it much cheaper for "ordinary" first time buyers to hit the property ladder. A £150k buyer has just had £1,000 knocked off the bill.

I'd be slightly concerned that this might trigger excessive activity is the housing market - a lot of properties in the £250k and £500k range might go up in price as a result. But it should suppress things in the overheated rich boys market which may help to limit price rises further down the chain.

Scotland may see a short term housing boom as people race to move before the end of March. Politically he will be able to argue "low tax Conservative England v higher tax socialist Scotland" on this point.

I'd like to see the £125k threshold raised, removing more buyers from stamp duty. Perhaps linking thresholds to CPI or a house price index would be a further positive step, protecting house buyers from fiscal creep.

I also thing BTL investors should pay more, although I'm not quite sure how you'd implement that.

But overall, despite being a privileged rich boy, Osbourne, perhaps encouraged by his Liberal friends, has shown a touch of political sense that benefits the "ordinary" and makes most of the system fairer.

I think that's to be applauded.

amnblog

lalab3 wrote: »

So im currently in the process of buying at £590000
So would I pay £19500 as stamp duty now in comparison to
£23,600?!!!! Really?! A saving of £4100!!!!

Your mathematics are correct.


When you consider you have to earn at least £5,125 to pay the tax on it to have the £4,100 net to pay the stamp, it is a very good deal for you.