March 2020 SDLT Briefing

 

Budget 2020

Given the current climate and the dramatics leading up to the Conservative government’s first budget, it is perhaps not surprising that Chancellor Rishi Sunak has focused his attention elsewhere and not too heavily on tax-related initiatives.

In this special edition briefing, Suzanne O’Hara looks at the changes introduced in yesterday’s budget in relation to property tax.

Unlike in previous years, there has been very little tweaking to the SDLT legislation in this year’s budget. In fact, only two announcements have been made:
 

1. Non-UK resident SDLT surcharge

   The government will introduce a 2% SDLT surcharge on non-UK residents purchasing residential property in England and Northern Ireland from 1 April 2021.
    

2. Housing co-operatives: Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED)and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

   The government have announced that they will introduce a relief for qualifying housing co-operatives from the ATED and the 15% flat rates of SDLT on purchases of dwellings over £500,000. The SDLT relief in England and Northern Ireland will take effect from Autumn Budget 2020 and the UK-wide ATED relief from 1 April 2021 with a refund available for 2020-21.

These changes do not have immediate effect but the budget also confirmed that the following previously announced measures will come into effect from 6 April 2020:
 

• Introduction of 30-day reporting and payment window for CGT on the disposals of residential properties
• The reform of lettings relief
• The reduction of the final PPR period to nine months

Read more about these measures in our January briefing.