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The second edition of the Stamp Duty Land Tax Handbook – A Guide for Residential Conveyancers is essential for residential property lawyers to understand better the stamp duty rules on residential property transactions in England and Northern Ireland. It will help practitioner's reduce costs and protect against claims for professional negligence and damage to reputation.

There have been successive changes to the stamp duty rules on residential property transactions, resulting in a regime that is very complex even for tax experts. Residential property lawyers are not tax experts, yet they are reasonably expected to confirm the amount of stamp duty payable by their clients, property buyers or banks.

The key changes included in this second edition are:

• the regime imposing the increased rates for ‘non-resident transactions’;
• details of more than 20 tribunal cases on matters including multiple dwellings relief, mixed-use transactions and procedure;
• the proposals to reform the rules on multiple dwellings relief and mixed-use transactions, and
• all relevant changes in HMRC practice.

This clearly written handbook, with an overview at the start and a summary of filing/payment obligations at the end, has been especially written to enable residential property lawyers to filter complex matters requiring specialist tax advice from ordinary matters that do not.

It offers:

• a clear explanation of complex tax concepts,
• warnings and helpful tips on seemingly ordinary transactions,
• hundreds of examples to illustrate key points,
• all relevant references to HMRC’s guidance manual, case law and statute,
• a fee-earner checklist,
• drafting and structuring recommendations,
• a full glossary,
• a client-questionnaire tool,
• a list of potential problem areas, and
• a list of myths on the tax based on the author’s extensive experience dealing with questions from solicitors and the public.

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Reviews

This book takes a dry subject and makes it readable and understandable....It includes plenty of good stuff.

Anna Newport, Solicitor and Director Newport Land and Law Limited

The book is a must have for firms that carry our residential conveyancers and contains a number of important changes since the first edition was published.

Rob Hailstone, CEO, Bold Legal Group

Contents

1. The scheme of the tax; 2. Excluded transactions; 3. Freehold and leasehold transfers; 4. Common reliefs; 5. Leases; 6. Collective enfranchisement; 7. Pre-completion transactions; 8. Transfers between spouses and civil partners; 9. Gifts, assents, appropriations and appointments; 10. Right to buy transactions, shared ownership leases, etc; 11. Alternative property finance; 12. Transactions involving public bodies; 13. Options and rights of pre-emption; 14. Release of negative obligations; 15. Transfers to connected companies; 16. Partnerships; 17. Promote arrangements and development licences; 18. Corporate reliefs; 19. Compliance and disputes; Appendices. A. Fee-earner checklist; B. Stamp duty land tax client questionnaire (human purchasers only); C. Potential problem areas; D. Glossary. 

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About the Author

Sean Randall is a tax partner at Blick Rothenberg Limited. He has over 20 years’ experience advising on stamp taxes. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Chairman of the Stamp Taxes Practitioners Group and a former winner of ‘Tax Writer of the Year’. He has contributed to the development of government policy, tax authority practice and statute on stamp taxes, including stamp duty land tax (SDLT).