stamp duty quandary

H

handyhaze

Guest
Hi,

Myself and my husband are curently buying a house, I currently own a house. my question is... will we have to pay the full amount for stamp duty considering he is a first time buyer, I am not. We are keeping my house as an investment.
Does anyone know a way around this?
Some of the people I have already asked have said that we have to pay the full amount whereas others have said that there is a way of getting around paying all of it as he is a first time buyer

any help here is appreciated
 
We were in the same situation as you are and got legal advice on it.
We had been told that a number of couples are attempting to get around this by having only the FTB on the deeds of the house and the second applicant as a guarantor on the mortgage.
We were advised that since we are married and that the house we are buying will be the family home then it is not possible to do this.
Having said that even if you are unmarried revenue.ie clearly state that in this situation you are liable for stamp duty.
 
We are keeping my house as an investment
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How long have you owned the property? If less that 5 years you will be liable to stamp duty clawback at the investors rate when you bought the house.

You also have to declare the profit from rental income See [broken link removed]from Revenue
 
Even if you were not married and the person not named on the deeds was actually in reality contributing towards the purchase of the property and a beneficial part owner then this would be illegal tax evasion as far as I know even if some professionals who should know better condone and facilitate it.

asdfg said:
How long have you owned the property? If less that 5 years you will be liable to stamp duty clawback at the investors rate when you bought the house.
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If/when the property is first rented out within said 5 year period.
 
asdfg said:
How long have you owned the property? If less that 5 years you will be liable to stamp duty clawback at the investors rate when you bought the house.
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I own it over the five years so that part is sound
​
 
Can you husband buy the house himself, also will lenders loan him the mortgage solely. Then he will be a FTB.
 
Bronte said:
Can you husband buy the house himself, also will lenders loan him the mortgage solely. Then he will be a FTB.
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Are you sure? I understood that once you married, the joint status was always applied.
 
Regardless of who's name is on mortgage or deeds, both you and your husband are the beneficial owners. As you are not FTB, then you cannot claim FTB rate of stamp duty.

Revenue are not that stupid that they havent already covered this type of evasion in tax legislation. These cases are like shooting fish in a barrel to them - guaranteed to be caught at some stage in near future.
 
Even if the husband buys the house outright, using his own money and pays the mortgage himself does not give his wife beneficial ownership just because they are married.

People are always assuming that it is tax evasion to put the house in one name, it is good tax planning or tax avoidance which is completely legit.

In the OP scenario they intend to buy the house together, then they lose the FTB status of the husband.

Clubman, I read the links you provided but it doesn't say anything about a genuine spouse in a marriage buying a house in their sole name.
 
I thought that it was the case that most lenders will insist on both spouses' names being on the mortgage/property deeds in any case?

Doesn't the [broken link removed] effectively grant a spouse a beneficial interest in the property?
 
We did this subject before but I can't remember when......

Clubman the second sentance of that link even mentions is "the sole property of one of the spouses."

It is possible for a family home to be in the sole name of one spouse. It is also possible that the other spouse is beneficially entitled to ownership or not as the case may be.

The Act does NOT mean that husband and wife are beneficial owners, it just means you cannot mortgage or sell it without the consent of the spouse and furthermore if you don't give your consent you can be forced to sell by being taken to court. It's unlikely to happen though - and I'm sure some banks have managed it.........

If I'm incorrect ...someone please correct the above

OP needs to seek professional advise, but I'm sure it's possible to avoid the stamp duty if need be.
 
I believe this loophole was closed in one of the Finance Acts - cant remember which one. It effectively treats a married couple as 1 entity when it comes to buying private residences regardless of who's name is on whatever deeds.
 
So basically the fiance and I shouldn't get hitched until he avails of his FTB status?
I've owned a house for four years, just my name on the deeds and mortgage.
 
So basically the fiance and I shouldn't get hitched until he avails of his FTB status?
I've owned a house for four years, just my name on the deeds and mortgage.
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See Clubmans links to Revenue. The issue is whether or not you have a beneficial interest in the house rather than who's name is on the deeds. If you are living in the house in question and contributing to the household costs, you have a beneficial interest.

This all comes back to the Constitution. A couple living together who are not married cannot be in a better position than an married couple.
 
cheers for all the help, we've decided to go for a new build instead most of these are exempt from sd

Thanks again for your help
 
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