Request for stamp duty 6 months after purchase

[steelblue]

Hi

Background

Retired couple sell up and downsize. 6 months later, their solicitor contacts them and says that they owe >10k stamp duty and better pay it soon or they will get penalties (implying penalty will be from tax man). This has upset couple. Approx 11k stamp duty already paid.

It appears that solicitor charged 3% (first time buyers rate) stamp duty on closing and not 6%.

I was alway led to believe that the stamp duty had to be paid within a month of closing. Therefore the solicitor has been incompetent and not payed the correct stamp duty to the revenue or he has paid correctly and now relaises his mistake.

Can anybody comment on the stamp duty needing to be paid in month after closing?

 

[MOB]

If the solicitor got the rate wrong, that is certainly annoying, but his mistake has not actually cost the couple any money. If the correct rate is 6%, then they are liable for 6%, - end of story. The fact that the solicitor incorrectly quoted 3% does not make him liable for the difference (no more than it would entitle him to keep the surplus if he had inadvertently quoted too much for stamp duty)

However, if the solicitor's delay were to result in a stamp duty penalty (or interest), the solicitor would have to pick up the tab for the penalty. This happens every solicitor at some stage in his\her career.

I rather suspect that the solicitor has sent in the 3%, the Revennue have come back and queried it and the solicitor has in turn written out to the clients. This could easily take close enough to 6 months - particularly if the solicitor queried the matter with Revenue (though I must say it seems pretty straightforward).