Housebuyers looking to avoid full stamp duty by purchasing fixtures separately may face the taxman’s wrath under the SDLT regime.
In the past, sellers of properties close to the £250,000 or £500,000 stamp duty thresholds have enticed buyers with the bait of a lower stamp duty rate through the device of selling fixtures and fittings independently, at an inflated price. Under the changes, the Inland Revenue will operate a “process now, check later” system – if the taxman smells a rat, he can investigate within nine months from the date upon which the tax return was received or was due.
This raises the question of definition: what constitutes a fixture and what constitutes a fitting? Hazel Williamson QC takes a look at the legal issues in her article
For more information, see the Inland Revenue’s guidance on fixtures and chattels.
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Housebuyers looking to avoid full stamp duty by purchasing fixtures separately may face the taxman’s wrath under the SDLT regime.
In the past, sellers of properties close to the £250,000 or £500,000 stamp duty thresholds have enticed buyers with the bait of a lower stamp duty rate through the device of selling fixtures and fittings independently, at an inflated price. Under the changes, the Inland Revenue will operate a “process now, check later” system – if the taxman smells a rat, he can investigate within nine months from the date upon which the tax return was received or was due.
This raises the question of definition: what constitutes a fixture and what constitutes a fitting? Hazel Williamson QC takes a look at the legal issues in her article A meaningful glance at fixtures and fittings Estates Gazette 10 January 2004, at p87.
For more information, see the Inland Revenue’s guidance on fixtures and chattels.
Related item: PP 2003/73
