News: December 2015
Property investors hit with stamp duty land tax increases
In the Summer Budget the Chancellor announced a restriction on the deductibility of interest from rental income for individual landlords of residential property. This restriction will be phased in from 2017/18 to 2020/21, and it may make letting uneconomic for landlords whose businesses are relatively highly geared. The latest attack on property investors is a proposed 3% increase in Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Landlords who can buy properties to let without a mortgage are not affected by the interest restriction. To discourage such cash-rich individuals from purchasing multiple properties to let or to hold as second homes, particularly in holiday areas like Cornwall, an additional SLDT charge of 3% will be payable by individual purchasers of residential properties worth over £40,000 from 1 April 2016. This supplemental SDLT charge won’t be payable by corporate purchasers (15 properties or more) or by funds such as Real Estate Investment Trust (REITS).
The proposed rates are:
| Purchase price | SDLT rate | cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 3% | £3,750 |
| £125,000 – £250,000 | 5% | £10,000 |
| £250,000 – £925,000 | 8% | £64,000 |
| £925,000 – £1,500,000 | 13% | £138,750 |
| £1,500,001 and over | 15% |
SDLT is currently payable within 30 days of the completion of the purchase and the SDLT return must be filed within the same period. The Government is proposing to reduce the payment and filing period to just 14 days from the completion date of the sale, sometime in 2017/18.
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