Milsted Langdon’s Stephen Griffiths can assist clients to obtain repayments of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) from HMRC on property purchases made in the last year.

SDLT was traditionally paid at a single slab rate on the whole purchase price, resulting in big jumps in the amount levied when the value tipped into a new band. In the last Autumn Statement, on 3 December 2014, the SDLT regime for residential property was reformed, which means that now, tax will not be paid on the first £125,000 of a property’s value. Buyers will then pay two per cent on the portion from £125,000 to £250,000, five per cent up to £925,000, 10 per cent up to £1.5 million, and 12 per cent on everything above that.

While the new system offers substantial tax savings on residential properties valued at up to £937,000, there are various SDLT reliefs available that can further enhance tax efficiency on land and property transactions.

Stephen can provide a SDLT review of property purchases for clients which will benefit buyers of farms with workers’ cottages, farms with holiday cottages, holiday cottage businesses or residential properties that comprise more than one property, and the review will inform Milsted Langdon’s clients on what to look for.

In two recent cases, Stephen has successfully secured SDLT refunds of £97,000.

As well as Stamp Duty Land Tax, Milsted Langdon can assist with the pre-planning and structuring of transactions to maximise the value of any appropriate reliefs. Transactions that qualify for reliefs, subject to certain conditions being met, include:

• transfers of property between companies in a group
• Right to Buy property purchases
• purchases of property by charities

If you would like more information, please contact us.