Every year many developers overpay their Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on residential and commercial purchases for a range of reasons, including the misclassification of property or lack of awareness of the exceptions and reliefs available. Often, the unrealistic expectancy of solicitors to be both property and tax experts can leave property developers overpaying their Stamp Duty.    

A developer who had purchased a site in London recently approached us to find out if they could make any savings on the Stamp Duty Land Tax they had paid.

The property development

After purchasing an old church in London for £4,300,000, the client developed the site into 27 residential flats with communal areas. Working with their solicitor, they had been advised that the SDLT payable was £204,500.

Ensuring success

Often HMRC’s Stamp Duty Land Tax calculator is used as the main tool to calculate SDLT rates, however the tool only gives a guide figure and does not consider a variety of calculations.

Our team at Innovation 4 Business began a full review of the site to assess whether the client had paid the correct amount on completion of the development. Unfortunately, the client’s solicitor did not want their client to engage with a specialist tax adviser and refused to look at our advice. As a result of this, we offered to submit a reclaim on the client’s behalf and they received a refund of £161,500.

The knowledge held by our experienced tax consultants allowed for a streamlined process, allowing the funds to be back with the client within just two months. Our advisers also ensured optimum communication between our business and the client throughout, so that they understood how much they were expecting to receive back and when.