Curry Popeck

West End Office:
87 Wimpole Street
London W1G 9RL
Tel: +44 (0)20 7224 6633
Fax: +44 (0)20 7935 4042
DX No: 9082 West End

Harrow Office:
380 Kenton Road
Harrow, Middlesex
HA3 8DP
Tel: +44 (0)20 8907 2000
Fax: +44 (0)20 8927 0499
DX No: 47504 Kenton

Pay less Stamp Duty
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You can't totally avoid paying stamp duty but with a little thought and effort you can save a lot of money, especially with more expensive homes. The amount of duty you pay depends on the purchase price.
Between £60,001 and £250,000 duty is one per cent of the whole price, between £250,001 and £500,000 it's three per cent and above £500,000 it's three per cent and above £500,000 duty rises to four per cent.
But the answer is to include contents as part of the sum you pay for your home, technically reducing the purchase price by pushing it down to cheaper stamp duty band. So if you're buying at, say, £260,000 or £510,000, of which £10,000 is a fair value for the contents, you make the following savings. You'll only pay one per cent duty on £250,000 instead of three per cent on £260,000 – a saving of £5300. And you will only pay three per cent duty on £500,000 instead of four per cent on £510,000 – a saving of £5400 This is all good news of course, but you should bear in mind the following points:
  • 'Contents' means loose, movable items like curtains, carpets and furniture, but not built-in kitchens, central heating or double-glazing.
  • The sum allocated to the contents must fairly represent their current value, not their original price or replacement cost.
  • The seller must be in agreement.
  • The maximum amount you can borrow on a mortgage will depend on a lender's valuation of the property or the purchase price (without contents) – whichever is lower – so if you want a very high percentage mortgage advance, they may not lend you as much as your need.
    Philip Popeck is a partner at Curry Popeck, solicitors.
    Call 020 8907 2000 or email him at philipp@currypopeck.com.
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