Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax that is generally payable on the purchase or transfer of land and property in England and Northern Ireland. It is also payable in respect of certain lease premiums. Higher rates of SDLT were introduced on 1 April 2016 and apply to purchases of additional residential property such as buy to let and second homes.
The filing and payment deadline for SDLT is currently 30 days after the ‘effective date’ of the transaction. HMRC’s guidance explains who must send a SDLT return, the penalties for late filing and how to amend a return.
For some time, HMRC has been championing a reduction in the time limit that purchasers have to file a SDLT return and pay the tax due from 30 days to 14 days. The draft legislation to put this change in place has recently been published and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the new time limit will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after 1 March 2019.
According to HMRC’s figures 85% of SDLT returns are already filed within 14 days of the relevant transaction. The SDLT return form will also be simplified by reducing the number of questions.
The Scottish Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (SLBTT) came into force on 1 April 2015 and replaced SDLT in Scotland, whilst the Welsh Land Transaction Tax (WLTT) replaced SDLT in Wales from 1 April 2018.
