Some (dumb) questions

1. When and how do you actually pay stamp duty? When you close or after? Through the lender, solicitor or direct to Revenue?

2. If you are negotiating to buy contents (additional to those included in the sale), do these get included on the contract of sale or is this conducted separately? How does the EA get involved - do they get a cut on the price?

you pay stamp duty to your solicitor when you are closing

PINK said:

you pay stamp duty to your solicitor when you are closing

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Actually just to clarify that - the stamp duty is due to Revenue but is given to the solicitor at or before closing. The solicitor needs to be in funds to have the stamp duty affixed to the deed because the deed cannot be registered until it is stamped and solicitors will have an undertaking with the lender that they will "stamp and register" the deed and the lenders charge without delay. The undertaking also states that the solicitor is in funds for the stamp duty prior to the release of the loan cheque.

The contents issue is a bit complex. Revenue take the view that if you buy a house for X and the contents for Y that these are related transactions and therefore if the value of the combined contracts has the effect of pushing the consideration into a higher stamp duty bracket then stamp duty is payable on the value of the house at the higher rate.

I get the impression that there is widespread under the counter payments for contents to get around this. As a practicing solicitor, I simply will not have any involvement nor will I advise in relation to it.

mf

you have 4 weeks from the close of sale to pay stamp duty. This can be extended to six weeks. after that penalties