The Chancellor of the Exchequer is not going to be happy…
For almost a year now Gepp Solicitors have been successfully providing a bespoke Stamp Duty Land Tax saving service. You will note the word ‘service’ and not ‘scheme’ as all our applications for either a reduction or refund in SDLT have been HMRC compliant and do not involve any off shore trusts or expensive insurance related products.
The savings can be HUGE!
A client recently purchased a house with a cost in excess of £1.6m. The SDLT arising on this purchase amounted to £111,750. Said client instructed Gepp's to review the SDLT position to see if any reliefs were available to reduce the amount due.
Our specialists reviewed the purchase and determined that a claim for multiple dwellings relief could be made based on the property being acquired. By making a claim for this relief we were able to save the client £49,250 up front on the initial purchase, a 44% saving on the SDLT originally calculated.
In another recent case, our client bought a property for £1.1m and the SDLT to be paid on this was £93,250 due to the 3% surcharge applying. We were able to determine that the additional property that was creating the surcharge liability was not residential and multiple dwellings relief could also be claimed on the purchase. We were able to reduce the overall SDLT to £37,500, saving the client £55,750 – nearly 60% of the original SDLT liability.
These are just a couple of the most recent SDLT savings we have obtained for our clients. They were both obtained at the point of purchase but it is also possible to claim back any overpaid SDLT if the original amount paid was too much. It is not always expensive properties either that can benefit from these reliefs.
If you would like to discuss whether an upcoming purchase is entitled to any SDLT relief, or whether you are entitled to a refund for previously overpaid SDLT, please contact Marc Dorsett on 01245 228146 or dorsettm@gepp.co.uk
