Stamp duty break for first time buyers
Whist the Chancellor's plan to scrap the stamp duty below £250,000 for first-time buyers will give the housing market a new boost, the extent of the boost will be determined by the definition of “ First Time Buyer”. According to HMRC in order to qualify for the stamp duty relief a buyer must not have acquired a major interest in residential property, not have acquired foreign property and the purchase must not involve a company, partnership or trustees. It is unclear whether those who have inherited property in the past would qualify. In the case of joint purchasers both buyers have to be “First Time Buyers”. The rules themselves are very restrictive, very confusing (even for conveyancing solicitors ) and will almost certainly delay the number of first-time buyers actually receiving the relief. I suspect that purchasers who define themselves as First Time Buyers will be asked by their Conveyancing Solicitors to sign a statutory declaration confirming that they meet the Revenue’s requirements. As with many hastily introduced incentives the application of the relief may cause a few headaches, particularly with the extent of automated form reading at the Stamp Office. An ink blot can easily cause a penalty notice to be issued as the machine can’t read it!
