Stamp Duty Land Tax

Ann L. Humphrey is a solicitor with an independent tax practice specialising in indirect tax. Philip Freedman is a property partner at Mishcon de Reya, and a member of the Law Society’s Land Law Committee.

SDLT (2nd edition) CONTENTS
PART ONE: SDLT: AN OVERVIEW
Key features of the SDLT regime
Introduction
PART TWO: THE SDLT REGIME IN DETAIL
1. SCOPE OF SDLT
1.1. Land transactions – the trigger
1.2. SDLT on conveyancing contracts and completions
1.3. Substantial performance – the charge to SDLT – no more ‘resting on contract’
1.4. Subsales and assignments of rights under contracts
1.6. Chargeable transactions
1.7. Chargeable consideration
1.8. Surrender and re-grant
1.9. Exchange relief abolished
1.10. Options and rights of pre-emption
2. CALCULATING THE CHARGE TO SDLT
2.1. Consideration other than rent
2.2. Relief from aggregation for collective enfranchisement by leaseholders
2.3. Relief from aggregation for transactions entered into in pursuance of the crofting community right to buy
2.4. Rate of SDLT on residential property - consideration other than rent
2.5. Rate of SDLT for non-residential or mixed property - consideration other than rent
2.6. The charge to SDLT on leases
3. RELIEFS
3.1. Introduction to SDLT reliefs
3.2. Disadvantaged areas relief for residential property
3.3. Sale and leaseback relief
3.4. Group relief
3.5. Reconstruction relief
3.6. Acquisition relief
3.7. Charities relief
3.8. Relief for certain residential property
3.9. Relief for compulsory purchases facilitating development
3.10. Relief for land transactions entered into in fulfilment of planning obligations by a public authority or developer
3.11. Demutualisation relief for insurance companies
3.12. Demutualisation relief for building societies
3.13. Relief for incorporation of limited liability partnership (‘LLP’)
3.14. Relief for land transfers involving public bodies in the case of a re-organisation under statute
3.15. Relief for local political constituency associations on land transfers made as a result of a parliamentary constituency re-organisation
3.16. Relief for land transactions involving certain museums and cultural organisations
3.17. Relief for right to buy transactions, shared ownership leases, share ownership trusts and related transactions
3.18. Relief for certain acquisitions by a registered social landlord
3.19. Alternative property finance relief – Sharia’a mortgages
3.20. Relief for certain public bodies - PFI Projects
3.21. Relief for new zero-carbon homes
3.22. Miscellaneous reliefs
3.23. Property authorised investment funds: proposed relief for conversion of an authorised unit trust to an OEIC
4. LAND TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING PARTNERSHIPS
4.1. Background
4.2. Overview of the current rules for extraordinary transactions
4.3. Application of SDLT to partnerships – general principles
4.4. Application of SDLT to ordinary partnership transactions
4.5. Partnership transactions to which special provisions apply (‘extraordinary transactions’)
5. SDLT – GENERAL ANTI-AVOIDANCE MEASURES
5.1. Disclosure of SDLT schemes
5.2. SDLT general anti-avoidance rule
6. THE SDLT REGIME - COMMENCEMENT AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
6.1. Commencement of SDLT Regime
6.2. The SDLT transitional regime
6.3. Counterparts and duplicates
7. THE ADMINISTRATION AND COLLECTION OF SDLT
7.1. Notifiable transactions
7.2. The land transaction return
7.3. Registration of land transactions
7.4. Claims not included in the land transaction return
7.5. Preservation of records
7.6. Enquiries into returns
7.7. Payment of tax
7.8. Deferring payment of SDLT in the case of uncertain or contingent consideration
7.9. Assessments
7.10. Interest and penalties
7.11. Information powers
7.12. Appeals
7.13. Collection of unpaid SDLT
7.14. Application of SDLT to companies
7.15. Application of SDLT to unit trusts
7.16. Application of SDLT to open-ended investment companies (‘OEICs’)
7.17. Application of SDLT to joint purchasers
7.18. Application of SDLT to trusts and trustees
7.19. Application of SDLT to persons acting in a representative capacity
7.20. Application of SDLT to the Crown
7.21. SDLT and pension funds
7.22. Assignment of lease - responsibility of assignee for returns
PART THREE: THE SDLT PROCESS
8. THE SDLT PROCESS
8.1. Forms and letters in the SDLT process
8.2. The Forms
8.3. Submission and Processing of the Return
8.4. Completing the Forms
8.5. E-filing
PART FOUR: SDLT BY TRANSACTION
9. SDLT BY TRANSACTION
9.1. Purchase of freehold
9.2. Purchase of existing lease
9.3. Grant of new lease
9.4. Rent reviews and rent variations
9.5. Sub-sales/assignments of rights
9.6. Sale and leaseback
9.7. Surrender and merger of leases
9.8. Exchanges
9.9. Carrying out of works
9.10. Holding over
9.11. Options and pre-emption rights
9.12. Grant of Easements and Rights
9.13. Statutory planning etc agreements
9.14. Gifts and transfers at an undervalue
9.15. Transfers in matrimonial cases
9.16. Miscellaneous
PART FIVE: SDLT GLOSSARY
PART SIX: SDLT FORMS AND GUIDANCE NOTES