Transfer of Equity - Stamp Duty eligibility after separation

[fatboyslimfast]

I was in an unmarried partnership. Joint mortgage. We are separating and I am paying my partner £25K for her share in the property. My current mortgage is £124K. I have been quoted by some (not all) solicitors that a) I would be eligible to pay stamp duty b) The amount would be 1% of (124K/2+25K) = £865. Are both points correct? Thanks in advance!

[johnryan]

I would like to know the answer to this myself

[stevecrowe]

Under the new rules of SDLT (brought in a few years ago) because 50% of your mortgage plus the share is in excess of £60K, stamp duty is payable.

There are a couple of ways to avoid this, I understand - reduce your mortgage (in this case to £69,999) so that (£69,999/2 + £25K) = £59,999.50 which is below the £60K threshold.

Alternatively, reduce your mortgage to £119,999 (so that half of it is below the £60K threshold) and pay your ex-partner £25K for something else so that the transfer is for nil consideration - the furniture and fittings, for instance. Provided you can justify this level of expenditure (you could always make a "gift" of the money after the transfer if you are on speaking terms.

Hope this helps - it's just another demonstration of this government's determination to make you pay for something you already own!!

[Sunflower]

Please excuse my ignorance but what will happen in my case? I own 2/3 of a house and I am going to take over the existing £120k mortgage. Assuming the house has gone up by £30k, I aim to pay my partner £10k in cash. Do I need to pay stamp duty and how do I calculate the amount please?

Also do I need to go through a solicitor or can I just go through the mortgage lender and pay my partner in cash?