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SDLT (Stamp Duty Land Tax), is a tax you pay when buying property or land in England & Wales.
It is a percentage paid on the purchase of a home or non-residential property, graded into bands. You must send an SDLT return to HMRC and pay the tax within 30 days of completion.
Your conveyancing solicitor will typically handle this fee; it will be added onto your solicitor’s fee, which will then be accordingly directed to the government.
As a buyer, all you really need to worry about is how much stamp duty you need to pay. Due to the housing boom over the previous years, stamp duty is an unpopular tax, especially since buying property is already a very expensive luxury.
Do private landlords need to pay stamp duty?
In short, yes. In fact, at a higher rate than regular residential buyers…
How much stamp duty do I have to pay?
The amount of Stamp Duty you pay depends on the purpose of the investment and the purchase price. The rates can change, as they have done over the years. In recent years, rates have been lowered and margins have changed to help first-time buyers and hinder investors and multiple homeowners. As it stands, these are the current rates:
*Updated 16th March, 2016
| Purchase price of property | Standard Stamp Duty rate | Buy-to-let/second home rate (1st April 2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 3% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | 5% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% | 8% |
| £925,001 – £1.5m | 10% | 13% |
| over £1.5m | 12% | 15% |
Yup, please note, as of April 1 2016, anyone purchasing a second home or buy-to-let investment has been required to pay an additional 3% in Stamp Duty Land Tax.
To get the most up to date rates, visit the GOV website.
When are you subject to pay stamp duty?
You don’t just pay Stamp Duty when purchasing property; the charge is also applied on most transactions on land, grants or assignments of leases, and transfers of chargeable securities, for example, shares in companies.
Stamp Duty Relief and exemptions
You may be eligible for Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) reliefs in certain situations, including “Registered social landlords”. More details on that over here.
Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.
Unfair tax