The Policy Paper has been published to confirm the changes that will take place from 1st April 2021 that allow for a 2% surcharge on the stamp duty payable on residential property in England and Northern Ireland that is purchased by non-UK residents.
The General description of the measure is as follows: Continue reading
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has just announced in his first budget speech on 11 March 2020, that there will be a surcharge on property purchases for overseas buyers buying property in the UK.
The surcharge was stated to be 2% on top of the standard rates, and this would take effect from April 2021. Continue reading
The government announced in the 2018 Budget that they were proposing a new surcharge on UK property purchases of an extra 1% of the purchase price where the buyer (or one of the buyers) is not a UK resident. The consultation process for that proposal has begun and will end on 6th May 2019.
The proposal states:
The government is committed to helping more people into home ownership but there is evidence that purchases of property by non-UK residents is pushing up house prices for UK residents. The government will therefore consult on a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) surcharge on non-UK residents purchasing residential properties in England and Northern Ireland. The non-UK resident surcharge will apply to purchases of residential property made by non-UK resident individuals and certain non-natural persons. The surcharge will apply to freehold and leasehold purchases of residential property and will be at a rate of 1% on top of all existing SDLT rates, including the rates applicable to the rental element of leasehold property.
The government is proposing to treat individuals as non-UK resident for the purposes of the surcharge if they spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months ending with the date the transaction occurs.
However, if the purchaser then becomes resident after the transaction date (i.e. spends more than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months afterwards) then they will be able to reclaim the surcharged SDLT. This will help anyone who may be relocating to the UK after a period abroad, for example and also ensures that the 1% surcharge does not get targeted on people who are genuinely wishing to make a home in the UK.
The extra 1% stamp duty will be on top of any other amounts that apply, including the increased amount payable when buying a second (or further) property.
Once the consultation process is over, the legislation will be introduced in a future Finance Bill.
You can find the consultation document here.