1st time buyer stamp duty exemption?

P

Pantalla

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I am thinking of buying a house with my sister. We would both be owner occupiers. She is a first time buyer but I am not. Will she still be entitled to stamp duty exemption/discounted rates on her part of the payment if we share the ownership of the house?
Does it make a difference if it is a new or second hand house?

Thank you
 
No - all parties for a joint purchase must be first time buyers for first time buyer benefits to apply I'm afraid.
 
You won't get the FTB rates but you might avoid stamp duty if a new house as there a reduced rates for owner-occupier purchasers of new houses.
 
See for the relevant stamp duty rates. In this case I think that you will get the non first time buyer rate of mortgage interest relief while your sister will get the higher first time buyer rate but I'm not 100% sure.
 
Pantalla said:
I am thinking of buying a house with my sister. We would both be owner occupiers. She is a first time buyer but I am not. Will she still be entitled to stamp duty exemption/discounted rates on her part of the payment if we share the ownership of the house?
Does it make a difference if it is a new or second hand house?
Click to expand...
My understanding is that owner-occupiers (FTB or not) can qualify for stamp duty exemption on new house, subject to certificate for floor area or if price excl VAT is below €317.5k.
May be somebody could confirm that.
 
The OASIS link above explains all.
  • First and non first timer buyers of new houses with a floor area certificate pay no SD.
  • Where there is no floor area certificate (i.e. greater than 125sqm floor area) SD is calculated based on the partial site value and/or building costs. First time buyers of second hand houses under €317.5K pay no SD.
  • Non FTBs of second hand houses under €127K pay no SD.
  • Otherwise the SD rates set out in the OASIS link apply.
  • Joint buyers are jointly treated as a FTB only if all parties are FTBs.
  • In the case of a FTB and non FTB buying the non FTB does not receive partial FTB exemptions (this is the answer to the original query).
 
What if you are under the 125sqm limit but the Builder refuses to obtain a Certificate for you because "the first time buyers grant is no longer in operation and the Revenue dont require them"?
 
Isn't it the Department of the Environment who issues the floor area certificate? Not sure if this is issued to the builder and then passed onto the buyer though. The floor area certificate is still relevant to the stamp duty assessment of the purchase so presumablt is still required.
 
As far as I am aware the builder must apply for the floor area certificate. Re the initial query about the stamp duty, I think its up to the solicitor to inform the revenue of your status, I have heard of many examples where purchasers (where one person is ftb and the other not) have been able to take advantage of the FTB rules. Whilst this is not legal, it does happen (probably as a reaction to the silly rule which ensures that persons get to lose their FTB status but have never received any advantage from it).
 
Glenbhoy said:
Whilst this is not legal, it does happen (probably as a reaction to the silly rule which ensures that persons get to lose their FTB status but have never received any advantage from it).
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While some may think that the rule is silly this does not excuse false disclosures and tax evasion.
 
i think non disclosure was actually what happened here. Is there an onus on anyone to make a declaration to the solicitor stating that they are not a first time buyer (normally because they have already purchased a house in another state)?
Aditionally, surely it is unfair on someone who qualifies for FTB relief, but who cannot afford to purchase on their own to be penalised for this! Eg. A FTB needs a sibling to lend a hand in order to qualify for a mortgage, this ends up adding an extra 3-7% to the cost. I understand that there has to be something in law to prevent abuse of the system, but surely the revenue could look at these on a case by case basis.
 
At the moment the rule is that a non FTB and a FTB buying together are jointly considered a non FTB. If they somehow manage to illegitimately benefit from FTB benefits when they should not then this constitutes tax evasion. There is no leeway for Revenue to deal with stuff like this on a case by case basis. Anybody who objects to the current rules should lobby to have them changed and not simply unilaterally decide that they don't or should not apply in their special case. Stop tax evasion - a genuine rip-off in "rip-off Ireland"!
 
you are correct of course, I was only pointing out that in many instances these things can be 'overlooked' by solicitors. It is illegal and am I right in saying that the revenue will be investigating these? Was there a furore recently about parents and kids buying together?
 
Revenue issued [broken link removed] a few month's ago. There is always a possibility that Revenue will eventually investigate any or all cases of tax evasion especially where the practices were widespread and the benefits of investigation and collection of outstanding liabilities outweighs the costs involved.
 
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