Stamp Duty Loophole?

JasonLVC

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax wrote: »

Actually I searched Stamp Duty Thresholds and it comes up with different web site returns.

Don't take offence. If you had said you were an Accountant before going off on one it would have helped.

No problem Ian. I'm a tax planning accountant - which means I only work with people with high net worth, non-doms and companies avoid all sorts of taxes, SDLT, SD, CGT, income tax, etc via SIPPS, trusts and all sorts of other financial wrappers.

I do have a sense of humour (honest) and have all the knowledge in my head - but not much use when you ask for 'evidence' as I can't post a scan and google is pretty much useless to be honest and can be very mis-leading (as you've discovered) unless you know exactly what to look for in the first place.

Sorry to come across as an !!!!!, just that I'm not in the business of justifying myself if you know what I mean.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

Give us a big hug then ya big jessy :grouphug:

bigturnip

JasonLVC wrote: »

if the HMRC official calculator comes up with the answer then it must be right.

I really don't want to reignite an argument here, especially as you have had a big threesome hug, but I just want to point out what a naive and dangerous view this is to take, especially if you advise people on tax law.

Always question what people are telling you, always ask to see the hard evidence and don't just take things at face value, especially when it is the government telling you how much tax you owe them.

By asking questions and probing these things you will learn, by merely accepting someone else's answer you may be perpetuating myth and end up possessing incorrect information.

The best evidence I could find was the 2003 Finance Act (Part 4,section 55), which appears to be the last time stamp duty taxes were laid out, subsequent acts have stated replacement figures but have not laid out the full text. As you will see there are no gaps in the thresholds, so no loophole.

As for direct.gov.uk, it is one of the most misleading, inaccurate and out of date sources of information I have found, I wouldn't rely on anything that it says. I have pointed out errors to them on numerous occasions and on numerous topics, not once have I had a reply or has anything been changed. It is a good first port of call as it covers a broad range of topics, but anything it says needs to be corroborated and questioned. I have noticed mistakes on the HMRC site in the past too, but they do seem to get corrected quite quickly, last week they were referring to the 2008/9 basic tax rate of 22% in an article about S2P, but they seem to have amended it now.

Anyway back to threesome hugging. :grouphug:

PBA

JasonLVC wrote: »

No problem Ian. I'm a tax planning accountant - which means I only work with people with high net worth, non-doms and companies avoid all sorts of taxes, SDLT, SD, CGT, income tax, etc via SIPPS, trusts and all sorts of other financial wrappers.

Well then, if you're an expert in the field, how do you suggest people avoid SDLT? This is what the thread's all about after all.;)

Dan_Collins_2

This thread is a joke. You all have a brain so why is this so hard.

125000.50 is lower than 125001 so it would fall in that bracket!

EASY!! EASY!! EASY!! Shaaaaadddddddd uuuuuppppp!!!!!! (those who watch soccer am will know what I am talking about!)

Froggitt

Here's how to avoid stamp duty.......if you dont need a mortgage.

When buying your new property, leave it in the current owners name, and get him to sign something to say that he totally revokes any claim to the property.

If you dont need a mortgage, that works.......been there, done that. I was the person they were buying the property off.

When they then sold the property a year or two later, from a deeds and stamp perspective, it was as if their purchaser was buying it from me.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

That's interesting! Did you have to pay the Sale Legal Fees?

Froggitt

As in, did my solicitor go thru it all........yes.

As well as me disowning any right to the property, I was protected against any claim for council tax etc in the property.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

What I meant was, when the house was subsequently sold ayear or two after selling to you, if the property appeared to be in your name as far as the Land Registry Office were concerned, did you have to pay Legal Fees then to remove your name from the deeds and the Land Registry?

I would guess that the answer is yes as it wouldn't have been done previously, but it would have been an interesting situation had you died in the mean time.

Froggitt

No - when the house was resold, I didnt pay anything.......remember my purchaser had indemnified me against any further costs.

Maybe my purchaser paid those fees.