Stamp Duty Land Tax savings schemes

Once again, the old adage has proved itself to be true.

"If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is".

Over the past couple of years, we have been approached by a number of companies trying to convince us of the merits of Stamp Duty Land Tax savings schemes. The idea is that there is a loophole in the law that "cannot be closed" according to one supplier that tried to convince us to work with him.

There are a number of variations on a theme, but fundamentally, the concept is that if you are buying a property, there are various schemes available to you that will enable you to legally avoid paying Stamp Duty Land Tax.

These schemes often involve sub-selling or buying through another company, so avoiding the tax that is normally due.

We have been extremely concerned about these schemes, not because it would cause us problems, but that our clients could suffer the consequences of when HMRC (formerly the Inland Revenue) finally catches up with those that have used them.

That's why we were very pleased to learn to read the lastest release from HMRC that explains their position, and that they are investigating instructions where they suspect such tactics were used.

This guidance note can be downloaded here which explains how HMRC view such schemes.

Confusion about Stamp Duty Land Tax rise

As most people are aware, from April 6th 2010, Stamp Duty Land Tax for properties costing over £1m will increase from the current 4% rate to a new 5% rate. This has caused a little confusion amongst buyers as to whether the tax is due at exchange of contracts or completion.
The law is clear on this, the tax is payable only on completion of the contract so anyone looking to purchase a property over £1m will need to complete the transaction before April 6th to ensure that they do not incur the additional cost.

Coverage of our Will Aid efforts

The media continues to pick up on our efforts to promote the importance of organising a Will.

In Saturday's Times newspaper, (P78) was an extensive article on making Wills, and Guy Crowther was quoted throughout the piece.

Radio presence

We were delighted to be asked to comment on the upcoming WillAid month by the local radio station, Eagle Radio. This followed last weekends piece on the southern BBC local radio stations, and we're looking forward to seeing what November brings!

It's not easy being a lawyer ...

We were very pleased to see that our article on some of the challenges that lawyers face when it comes to transacting properties has been published in the estate agents' magazine, The Negotiator.

We highlight some of the problems that we face, in particular, our responsiblities, not only to our clients, but also to any prospective mortgage lender that will also have an interest in the property.

We originally called the article, "Why don't lawyers just take a view" because that's what we're asked all the time!

Click here for a copy of the article

The Partnership joins WillAid

We're delighted to announce that we're taking part in WillAid - the charity that benefits from people making wills through firms such as ourselves, through "Make A Will month".

We will put together a basic Will for our clients, and instead of charging our normal fee, clients are asked to contribute to a donation to the Will Aid Charities.

More details can be found here about this charity, and we welcome people to contact us for more information about how we are working with this organisation.

Another milestone passed today - 5000 standalone EPCs

Delighted to see that we reached another milestone today - we have completed our 5000th standalone EPC.

Obviously this does not include the 10,000 that we carried out part of our Home Information Pack service, but is still an excellent figure.