Estate Agents In York

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Would we pay higher stamp duty if we marry before buying together?

We would be tenants in common on the joint property

Q Please can you advise me whether my partner and I should wait until we marry to buy a new home together or not. I own three rental properties and would probably need to sell my current home to buy with my partner. I am unsure if we would be liable for the extra stamp duty on the purchase if we marry before buying, or if I alone would pay on 50% of the purchase if we are tenants in common. VF

A How you jointly own property – whether as tenants in common or joint tenants – makes no difference to how stamp duty is charged. Both the standard and higher rates of stamp duty are charged on the full purchase price of the property. There was a fairly technical – and untested – tax loophole around the legal definition of what constituted a “major interest” in a property, which meant that married couples could, in theory, get out of paying the higher rate of stamp duty by being tenants in common rather than joint tenants. But this loophole was closed last November, so how you own property no longer makes a difference.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2MzJYe5
via IFTTT

No comments:

Post a Comment