Stamp taxes

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT)

Introduction and territorial scope

For a comprehensive introduction to stamp duty land tax (SDLT) and other stamp taxes, see Practice Note: Introductory guide to stamp taxes.

SDLT is payable on most UK (excluding Scotland and Wales, see below) land transactions where the consideration for the transaction exceeds the minimum threshold. Different rates apply depending on the type of property, the type of purchaser and the amount payable for the property.

SDLT ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interests in or over land in Scotland from 1 April 2015 following the enactment of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013. From that date, the relevant tax in Scotland for property transactions is the LBTT—see Practice Notes: Scotland: Land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT)—the basics and Scotland: Land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT)—chargeable consideration and rates of LBTT.

In respect of land in Wales, LTT replaced SDLT on 1 April 2018 (following the enactment of the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017). See Practice Note: Wales: Land transaction

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All in? Court confirms when a settlement is 'made' for the purposes of excluded property (Accuro Trust (Switzerland) SA v The Commissioners for HMRC)

Private Client analysis: This case considered the meaning of 'relevant property' under the settlements regime of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) and, in particular, the time at which this definition is to be tested. The question arose as to whether the trustees of an offshore trust established by a non-UK domiciled settlor were subject to the UK settlements regime in respect of property added to the trust after the settlor became deemed domiciled in the UK, or whether they were exempt from such charges as the trust consisted solely of excluded property. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) held that whether trust property is excluded property is based on the status of the trust at the time that it was established, not at the time that the property in question was added to the settlement. As a result, the trust in this case did consist solely of excluded property and no inheritance tax (IHT) charges arose as a result of either the ten-year anniversary or capital distributions. The FTT was also asked to consider whether their jurisdiction was appellate, or supervisory only. The FTT held that, while their jurisdiction was supervisory, the questions raised by the trustees were relevant in establishing whether HMRC had acted reasonably and that the outcome (ie that the paid IHT should be refunded and that no further IHT was due) would be the same in either case. Written by Katherine Willmott, senior associate solicitor at Foot Anstey LLP.

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