Stamp Duty Land Tax: the basics

Article by Ann L Humphrey, solicitor specialising in indirect taxes and author of 'Stamp Duty Land Tax: a practical guide for lawyers'. This article appeared in the June 2006 issue of Tax Adviser. On 1 December 2003, Stamp Duty Land Tax was introduced to replace the charge to stamp duty on dealings in UK land and buildings. Although stamp duty continues to apply to instruments transferring stock or marketable securities, and to transfers of certain interests in partnerships, its scope has been much reduced. An update on the residual charge to stamp duty will be included in a future issue.

There are some similarities between SDLT and stamp duty, but also some significant differences. Perhaps the most important difference is that stamp duty is a tax on instruments, whereas SDLT is a tax on land transactions. Since 1 December 2004, documents evidencing land transactions chargeable to SDLT have not been physically stamped.

Technical Department
020 7235 9381

June 2006 by Ann L Humphrey