During the current COVID-19 lockdown, many mortgage companies, credit card companies and other lenders have been offering payment holidays, to help people across England and Wales to make it through this pandemic. 

 

One question that is being raised in the legal World, especially in Property Law, is whether there should be a Stamp Duty payment holiday. 

Due to the current climate, there has been a fall in the number of property transactions that have been able to proceed. You can find out what you are and aren’t allowed to do during this time in relation to your property move in our Property Solicitors in Garstang’s Google Post. 

 

This has led to a call from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for a Stamp Duty holiday, to help kick start the ‘stalled housing market’. 

Stamp Duty (Stamp Duty Land Tax) is a tax payable when a person purchases a property. The amount payable will depend on the value of the property, whether it’s your first home, and a few other factors. You can read more in our Property Solicitors in Garstang’s blog, here. 

 

And you can find the Government’s Stamp Duty Calculator, here. 

The Stamp Duty return has to be submitted within 14 days of your property purchase being completed. In most circumstances, unless otherwise expressly agreed, your property solicitors in Garstang would ask you to make payment of the Stamp Duty prior to completion of your purchase. That way, they can submit this as soon as they have all the necessary documents, to ensure that you are not penalised for late payment. Our property team always find it’s nice to simplify matters, and ease stress. 

Well, if buyers did not have to ensure they had enough money for the cost of buying the property, legal fees and other costs as well as Stamp Duty, they may be able to get moving with the purchase of their dream property sooner (i.e. they have to save up less money). If we are being honest, if you can’t afford legal fees (MG Legal’s fees are on average £495.00, plus VAT), then you shouldn’t be buying a property in the first place; it’s the dreaded Stamp Duty (often in the thousands), that will affect your property purchase the most. For sellers, well, you lot have to think about estate agent’s fees. 

Not for you, as the buyer. However, HMRC receives the income from Stamp Duty, which, presumably, is put back into keeping the country up-and-running. However, this payment break could help to prevent the property market from crashing, in theory, and could help to lift the country back up when the lockdown has ended. 

It has been touted. But, there have been no immediate plans made for a break, but our Property Solicitors in Garstang will keep an eye out for an update, and will ensure that we keep our clients who could be affected (and you, as our loyal reader) up-to-date.