SDLT on land transactions, and Stamp Duty and SDRT on shares — three transfer taxes, each charged on the consideration given rather than the value received.
Whenever land or shares change hands for value, one of these taxes is likely to bite, and the rules differ depending on what is transferred and how. This chapter opens with a map of the three taxes and the principle that they are charged on consideration, before working through SDLT in detail: what counts as chargeable consideration — including VAT, gifts and assumed mortgages — then the banded rate structures for residential and non-residential property and the surcharges for additional properties and non-residents. From there it covers the main reliefs, including first-time buyers relief and main residence replacement relief, the linked transactions rules, and the effective date, filing deadline and payment obligations. It finishes with Stamp Duty and SDRT on share transfers — how the two are distinguished, their rates, the treatment of gifts and when group relief applies.
