Anyone else just paid a whacking load of stamp duty!!!

[Thekindyoufindinasecondhand]

Purchased our house 8 days ago. It was all rsther stressful (as these things often are!) as we were meant to move in March, but due to obvious reasons we couldn't. Finally we are all moved in hurrah! Then yesterday heard the news out we may of paid almost 8k that may not be necessary soon.....to say I'm a bit miffed is an understatement.

(Just incase anyone comes along and says these things happen etc, it's happened before I do realise that, just looking to commiserate with anyone else who is recently 8k lighter for what could be no reason and wants a moan )

£26.5k last week!

Would have been £11k under the new rules- but the idea that this will stave off a price crash is (scant) comfort.

@Hippocampe define fair? Tax payer's money being used to spend millions of pounds backdating an incentive that is trying to get the market going being spent on people who were going to move anyway? There is literally no benefit to the government to do that. As a tax payer I wouldn't be happy with that, and I certainly wouldn't call it fair.

@notheragain4 There is literally no benefit to the government to do that.

Yes there is. A significant portion of Conservative donors are in the property industry and this incentive, paid for by taxpayers, helps ensure these donors don't lose money due to house prices crashing and demand for housing falling (at least for the next few months).

@newbie111 but they don't benefit refunding sales that have happened, they are trying to boost the market going forward (and yes I'm not naive it benefits the usual donors) they don't care what's happened previously, it would be hard for them to sell the public benefit on refunding sales that have happened, I certainly can't see one.

(To clarify, I'm talking about backdating, not the scheme as a whole)

When we bought this house (not UK) we paid a HUGE amount of stamp duty, over 7%. If we had waited 4 months we would have paid 1%. We NEVER mention it as it raises DH's blood pressure, even a decade later.

I did have to bite my tongue when I was reregistering the car to the new country as the tax officer I was dealing with said that it was helpful that we had bought rather than renting as it showed an intention to be a permanent move, otherwise we might have to pay import tax on the car. I didn't bother to point out that if we had rented for a few months then not only would the stamp duty saving cover the car import tax, it could have paid for another car or two brand new.

A petition is a waste of time, I would bet my own house it will not be backdated. But yes it totally sucks if you are in the position of just missing out.

Yes we exchanged on Friday and paid £27k stamp duty. Would've been £15k cheaper if we exchanged this week - money we could really, really do with. I don't know how I'm ever going to get over the rage!

There has to be a cut off somewhere though, annoying as it is if you are just the wrong side of it.

It's likely I'll be made redundant - I'll find out in next few weeks. My employer changed the redundancy payout a week before I joined the company, so I'll be getting a lot less redundancy money than other members of my team

I can't see them backdating it. Why is it fair to backdate it now but not for all the first time buyers pre Oct17 that just missed out? Sometimes your on the right side of the line and sometimes the wrong side - that's life!

@Noto

Yes we exchanged on Friday and paid £27k stamp duty. Would've been £15k cheaper if we exchanged this week - money we could really, really do with. I don't know how I'm ever going to get over the rage!

Do you mean Completed, rather than Exchanged? If you've already completed then yes, it's a total bugger but if you haven't yet completed yet, you'll still benefit as it goes on completion date I believe.

(Sorry if you have already completed, but thought it was worth highlighting, just in case)

Ah yes @CharmingB you're right I mean completed, too angry to think straight!!

We are due to exchange tomorrow so looks like we will save. Will go some way to compensating for the stress of a corona--halted will-it, won't it-happen move.

But - I just paid the balance of my (UK) holiday accommodation on Monday so missed out on the VAT slash there. (Not quite the same saving as stamp duty but when there's only a day in it, it's quite galling).

@puptent have you looked at the price of the holiday now? I'm wondering if the saving won't always be passed on to the customer, the seller could up their price?

@Noto

Ah yes *@CharmingB* you're right I mean completed, too angry to think straight!!

☹️ That is a bugger indeed then!

I'm one of those that completed a few days before this announcement. Will anyone sign these petitions for backdating the threshold change to the beginning of lockdown? It's almost certainly a forlorn hope but just maybe...

Very many thanks if you do!

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/310695

www.change.org/p/backdate-stamp-duty-to-start-of-covid-lockdown

[quote Dilligaf1]I'm one of those that completed a few days before this announcement. Will anyone sign these petitions for backdating the threshold change to the beginning of lockdown? It's almost certainly a forlorn hope but just maybe...

Very many thanks if you do!

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/310695

www.change.org/p/backdate-stamp-duty-to-start-of-covid-lockdown[/quote]
Yes I've signed every petition out there, but like you not holding out much hope!