Читать книгу Money: A User’s Guide - Laura Whateley - Страница 41

This is the biggest cost of moving, a tax you pay on any property you buy in the UK. The tax is based on the price of the property you are buying, and is staggered in thresholds. For example, you pay 2 per cent of a property’s value on properties priced between £125,001 and £250,000; 5 per cent on properties worth between £250,001 and £925,000; 10 per cent on properties worth £925,001 to £1.5 million.

First-time buyers are exempt from paying stamp duty on any home worth below £300,000. If the property you want to buy is worth more than £300,000 but less than £500,000 you pay 5 per cent of any proportion between the two.

If you are buying with another person you both have to be first-time buyers, otherwise it does not count. There is an exception if only one person’s name is on the deeds, and that person is a first-time buyer, but only if you are not married. You are not a first-time buyer if you have already owned a property in another country, or if you have inherited a property. You also only get the exemption if you are buying a home to live in. It does not apply to buy to let, even if you have never bought a property before.