Stamp Duty - any chance of a change at the next budget?

[garycat]

The £250K jump from 1% to 3% stamp duty really p1sses me off (as I'm paying £270K for a house) This creates an artificial step in house prices where you have to pay £5000 more to the government if your house is £250K rather than £249,999. £5000 is the price of a new kitchen or a conservatory.

Is there any chance this may be changed in the next budget to be 3% on the value above £250K .. any insider knowledge?

[Maxf]

I assume it would be frowned upon to pay £249 for the house, and £21k for fixtures and fittings?

[Viper_Larry]

What? With house prices falling, in 'real terms' less people will be affected.

That's the type of comment they'll come up with

Stuff all chance, I would wager

[scotal]

Maxf said:

I assume it would be frowned upon to pay £249 for the house, and £21k for fixtures and fittings?

THe revenue can ask you to prove the value of the fixtures and fittings, and for obvious reasons they take a lot of interest in any sales at or near stamp duty thresholds.

You also have to get both your lawyer and theirs to agree to it, anot all will sanction the transaction as i understand it.

[TankRizzo]

Knowing this government, they'll actually lower the threshold for the higher rate now prices are falling.

[plasticpig]

Brown is more likley move in the opposite direction and lower the threshold. There is a quite a few £billion he needs to recover to fill the hole he has dug.

[garycat]

Yeah but GB also needs to get the house market moving. If you are buying near the £250K threashold that means you have to borrow another £5000 on your mortgage as most of your cash is likely to be used as deposit.

So, you actually and up paying about £10000 eventually.

[scotal]

I think its more likely that the 175k stamp duty holiday will be extended to "help" FTB's rahter than a bit further up the ladder.

[Rude-boy]

scotal said:

You also have to get both your lawyer and theirs to agree to it, and not all will sanction the transaction as i understand it.

Correct, not many of us are interested in losing our careers and possibly gaining a Criminal Record to save a client a bit of money.

As said you have to be able to justify the price being charged for the chattels and the value of those is based on the second hand open market value of them, not new for old.

No one would be likely question a sale at £250k with all the curtains and carpets plus, say a shed and some garden furniture being lumped in as an extra £2-3k for chattels. £250K +£21k for chattels would have me asking for a professional valuation of the chattels included in the sale.

[Steve748]

It would be easy enough to make things fair by having stepped SD so that if you bought a house for £275 the first £175 was free of tax and you paid 1% for the £75k and then £3% for the next £25k and then peeps wouldn't be too hacked off as they are now paying 3% on the whole £275 which would be £8,250.
The fair way they would pay $1500. OK a lot less for GB or AD but shirley more peeps like me would be happier and more likely to move, buy a house? I am more thinking along the lines of building a house rather than buy and spend lots of money making it in to what I want it to be like.
House prices have gone up and the original SD thresholds have not moved.

[havoc]

Steve748 said:

It would be easy enough to make things fair by having stepped SD so that if you bought a house for £275 the first £175 was free of tax and you paid 1% for the £75k and then £3% for the next £25k and then peeps wouldn't be too hacked off as they are now paying 3% on the whole £275 which would be £8,250.
The fair way they would pay $1500. OK a lot less for GB or AD but shirley more peeps like me would be happier and more likely to move, buy a house? I am more thinking along the lines of building a house rather than buy and spend lots of money making it in to what I want it to be like.
House prices have gone up and the original SD thresholds have not moved.

You win todays award for naivety and wishful thinking.

Pick any prize you want...imagine it for a while...and then realise you're not getting it!!!



(I agree with your sentiment wholeheartedly, but GB and his cohort would laugh at you if you suggested it...)

[Steve748]

You are correct and I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it, so if they really want the housing market to kick off they have to come up with something, we all live in hope our current Tory government are not as bad as the last lot

[Dave_ST220]

scotal said:

Maxf said:

I assume it would be frowned upon to pay £249 for the house, and £21k for fixtures and fittings?

THe revenue can ask you to prove the value of the fixtures and fittings, and for obvious reasons they take a lot of interest in any sales at or near stamp duty thresholds.

You also have to get both your lawyer and theirs to agree to it, anot all will sanction the transaction as i understand it.

It seems a grey area for new builds though. My lawyer has said optional extras will be a seperate transaction, the house is £250K(it changes at 250K and £1 IIRC). The extras are not being funded by borrowing so the mortgage is not involved. I won't be surprised to get stiffed a £5k bill some time down the line though The developer does not see any problems, i mean they have LOADS of properties at the 3% threshold, people won't pay £4.5K in tax to add a few grands worth of options. Stupid system and a criminal tax anyway IMO(lik most in this country).