Stamp Duty Liability

[TRS30]

Hi all

My sister and myself bought a new house back in 2002 and sold it in 2003.

I took my proceeds and bought an apartment. As i didn't qualify for the mortgage, my sister came on the mortgage and deeds with me, even though she never lived there.

I paid the stamp duty that was due at the time.

Now, my salary has increased and i am looking into getting the apartment, mortgage & Deeds solely in my name.

As Stamp Duty was paid at the time of purchase, would there be any liability now if transfered into my name only?

Thanks in advance.

 

[asdfg]

Doubt it. Does this help

See Here

 

[TRS30]

Thanks asdfg

Saw that post when I did a search on Stamp Duty but doesn't really apply to my situation.

The apartment is worth 360K and I am not buying my sister out. The mortgage and Deeds would just be transfered to my name only. No money would change hands as my sister has had no interest in the apartment (apart from been on the mortgage and Deeds).

 

[mf1]

Ummmm.

"my sister has had no interest in the apartment (apart from been on the mortgage and Deeds)."

Reminds me of that old one, "so apart from that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the opera?"

I can see your point but Revenue may not. They will view a transfer of your sisters half share for nil consideration as a gift by her to you of E180,000.00 less half the mortgage but if that then amounts to less than E127K there may not be any stamp duty. Have the lenders agreed to this? You may have a Capital Acquisitions Tax problem though - agains depends on numbers.

I think that Revenue might expect your sister to have executed a Deed of Trust at the time i.e. that the intention was that she would hold her share in trust for you - but I'm no expert on that.

mf

 

[TRS30]

Thanks mf1.

They will view a transfer of your sisters half share for nil consideration

How do they know that that the ownership was a 50:50 split ?

The mortgage would be about 246K so the net value would be roughly 57K

"my sister has had no interest in the apartment (apart from been on the mortgage and Deeds)."

Reminds me of that old one, "so apart from that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the opera?"

Just to clarify that nothing underhanded has gone on.

Correct stamp duty was paid at the time and I am in no way trying to avoid paying it again if needs be. I am just try to see what the likely situation would be before i go ahead.

 

[mf1]

No, I'm not accusing you of anything - I'm simply making the point that when you say "my sister has had no interest in the apartment (apart from been on the mortgage and Deeds" - she does have an interest in the property. She is on the Deeds.

Think of it like this - husband transfers all his interest in all his properties to his wife so that they will not be available to possible creditors. Husband and wife split up. He says oh I did not mean she was to get everything -I just did not want the properties available for creditors. Lawyers say - you transferred all your interest in all your properties to your wife. If you did not want her to have them you should not have transferred them to her.

How do they know that that the ownership was a 50:50 split ?
You have to tell them, otherwise they will assume that the property is jointly held.

You still have a CAT issue.

mf

 

[ramble]

If your sister made no contribution whatever to the purchase of this apartment and did not make any mortgage repayments or pay any outgoings on the property then she holds her "share" on trust for you. I think it would certainly be worth making a submission to revenue if this is the case. The value of 1/2 the equity puts you over the Capital acquisitions tax threshold so the issue will have to be dealt with or you will have a cat liability as well as a stamp duty one, although if you have been living in the property for more than 3 years there is a specific exemption from CAT. (it comes with conditions so check it out) Your solicitor should be able to refer you to a tax consultant specialising in this area. They usually charge by the hour but do a lot of work in one hour. Get all your paperwork together, bank statments etc showing the source of the deposit and mortgage repayments. I am assuming from your post that your sister is not claiming any interest in the property. A declaration of trust may be sufficient but you should certainly get specialised advice.

Mf1, I think your analogy with a married couple could be misleading property division following marital break-up does not necessarily proceed on the basis of whose name is on the deeds.