Stamp Duty Land Tax Handbook: A Guide for Residential Conveyancers, 2nd Edition

The second edition of the Stamp Duty Land Tax Handbook – A Guide for Residential Conveyancers is essential for residential property lawyers to understand better the stamp duty rules on residential property transactions in England and Northern Ireland. It will help practitioner's reduce costs and protect against claims for professional negligence and damage to reputation.

There have been successive changes to the stamp duty rules on residential property transactions, resulting in a regime that is very complex even for tax experts. Residential property lawyers are not tax experts, yet they are reasonably expected to confirm the amount of stamp duty payable by their clients, property buyers or banks. The key changes included in this second edition are:

• the regime imposing the increased rates for ‘non-resident transactions’
• details of more than 20 tribunal cases on matters including multiple dwellings relief, mixed-use transactions and procedure
• the proposals to reform the rules on multiple dwellings relief and mixed-use transactions, and
• all relevant changes in HMRC practice

This clearly written handbook, with an overview at the start and a summary of filing/payment obligations at the end, has been especially written to enable residential property lawyers to filter complex matters requiring specialist tax advice from ordinary matters that do not.

It offers:

• a clear explanation of complex tax concepts
• warnings and helpful tips on seemingly ordinary transactions
• hundreds of examples to illustrate key points
• all relevant references to HMRC’s guidance manual, case law and statute
• a fee-earner checklist
• drafting and structuring recommendations
• a full glossary
• a client-questionnaire tool
• a list of potential problem areas, and
• a list of myths on the tax based on the author’s extensive experience dealing with questions from solicitors and the public