Stamp Duty Land Tax increase penalises home buyers There has

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Stamp Duty Land Tax increase penalises home buyers There has been much press commentary regarding the extra 3% Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and the 3% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) – part of the Land and Building Transaction Tax in Scotland – that applies to the purchase of a second residential property by individuals in the UK from 1 April 2016. Home owners should be wary as this can more than triple the initial Stamp Duty costs of buying a second home in the UK. The rules are strictly applied. For example, if a homeowner wants to move house, but is finding it difficult to sell their existing home, they may decide to complete on the purchase of their replacement home and press on with trying to complete the sale of their present home at some future date. The problem is, HMRC or Revenue Scotland will still apply the 3% extra duty even though the intention is to replace one property with another. At the time the replacement property was purchased, the buyer owned two residential properties at the end of the day the deal was completed. As such, the replacement purchase was a second property. Homebuyers caught in this position should seek advice and quantify the amount of the extra duty they will have to find. However, all is not lost. It is possible to claim a refund of the additional 3% paid but there are time limits. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the replaced property must be sold within 36 months of the replacement purchase; whereas in Scotland the time limit is only 18 months. Property taxation has been very much in the spotlight recently with a number of changes made to reliefs available against income for landlords and the capital gains tax rules widened to include non-residents, as well as more properties caught under the annual

tax on enveloped tax rules. It has become increasingly difficult to ensure that you are complying with all of the rules and not unwittingly incurring additional tax charges. Kreston Reeves have a number of factsheets to help you keep up to date with the ever changing property tax rules, including more detail on the additional 3% SDLT charge amongst other things. To request a factsheet please email [email protected]. London’s housing: can the new mayor really produce more affordable homes? Pity Sadiq Khan, the new Mayor of London, as he faces what will probably be the challenge against which he is ultimately judged: Housing, or rather the lack of it. His hope of building 50,000 new affordable homes a year, which would represent a huge escalation in the current average annual building rate, looks like a mountain to climb. Fighting an election campaign on the issue may prove easier than tackling it, particularly against the headwind of Government policies that, arguably, make it far tougher for councils and housing associations to play the sort of role he wants. Mr Khan will need considerable political skills to balance his ambitions against the needs of developers and those who finance them, not to mention the direction of housing policy from central Government. The previous mayoral administration also promised many affordable homes, but last year produced just 4,880, the lowest since records began in 1991. What this would seem to prove is that the business of getting affordable accommodation built in the capital when supply and demand are so out of step is a highly challenging mix of bureaucracy, demographics and market forces.

What Mr Khan is hoping is that a number of key initiatives will unlock the problem. Some are certainly interesting, in particular to free up brownfield sites under his control for development. Others are more confrontational, such as the promise to ‘call in’ any scheme that does not promise to make affordable housing 50 per cent of its project. An early test for this will be the £8 billion redevelopment of Earl’s Court, in West London. It involves pulling down two council estates, but the affordable housing requirement is currently just 11 per cent. He has also floated the intriguing idea of selling bonds to build homes for rent on land over which he has control. But developers are businesses, and many will have paid a great deal of money for sites in London. They need to make a return, which means selling homes to reflect what is often the largest single cost: Its site. Keep Khan and carry on Unless Mr Khan can make deals palatable to them, perhaps by relaxing infrastructure provision requirements or rules on the size of living area, he may find resistance. His ‘London Living Rent’ idea, pegged at a third of the relevant borough average, will be a particularly hard sell to developers. Unless carrots outnumber sticks, a situation could arise where landowners simply do nothing and wait for a change of political direction, or administration. In the meantime, they might also expect the satisfaction of seeing any land they do release for building increase in value. Supply and demand can be cruel to political ambitions. The new mayor is plainly relying on what he might regard as his natural allies in housing associations and councils to help plug the gap. But it is his misfortune that both are facing pressures of their own from the new Housing and Planning Act. This encourages the right to buy for association tenants and forces councils to sell off their prime, stock. In addition, housing associations are having to cut rents by one per cent a year for tenants between now and 2020. Taken together, the new climate for housing associations and councils looks unsettled, not least over borrowing abilities. Most associations use bank lending to fund developments. It is unclear how banks will feel when rents are forcibly reduced and sales are enforced. In the end, Mr Khan may find that public policy and profit margins make very uneasy bedfellows. It will be an enormous task to even get them into the same room. But he should be encouraged to try, and particularly to help the borough councils and housing associations to help him. Changes in CGT rates and residential property Amongst other changes in the 2016 Budget the Chancellor

announced that the rates of Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”) would be decreasing to 10% for basic rate tax payers and 20% for higher or additional rate tax payers for transaction occurring on or after 6 April 2016. Whilst this is very encouraging news there was a caveat that any sales of residential property would not be affected by these changes. The rate of Capital Gains Tax would therefore continue at 18% for basic rate tax payers and 28% for higher or additional rate tax payers on these types of transactions. For many property disposals it will be easy to determine whether or not it falls within the lower or higher rates of Capital Gains Tax. The sale of a leasehold flat in Brighton, or a three bedroom house in Canterbury, for example is a UK residential property and therefore subject to any reliefs for the properties being the owner’s main residence, any gains will be subject to the higher CGT rates. The definition of an UK Residential Property Interest for this purpose doesn’t however just include the examples mentioned above. It can include properties which are not yet constructed, i.e. ‘off-plan purchases’ as well as properties which may not be suitable for occupation at the date of sale but had been previously, or the suitability is only temporary. More importantly for some it will include the sale of a garden or outbuildings which is part of a residential property, even if it is sold separately to the house. Individuals who sell the bottom of their gardens to developers may be mistaken that they are not subject to the higher rates of CGT, but unfortunately this is not the case in a lot of circumstances. Equally the grant of an option binding the grantor (the owner of the land) to sell an interest in UK residential land is to be treated as a disposal at the higher CGT rates for this purpose. Again, the grant of an option is not uncommon where property developers approach home owners in purchasing their land to build a new development. Individuals therefore need to be aware that the higher rates of CGT could apply here too. Looking first at off-plan purchases; this means ‘a contract for the acquisition of land consisting of, or including, a building or part of a building that is to be constructed or adapted for the use as a dwelling’. This could therefore bring into charge empty farm buildings or similar commercial units which have had planning permission granted but the construction has not yet started when the property is sold. Where a property is not suitable for use as a dwelling for any of the period it is owned (or after 5 April 2015 for non-UK resident individuals) then providing certain criteria are met, the individual may be able to treat the property as not being a dwelling for that period. This can include, if before the completion of disposal, a building has been demolished either to ground level or to a single façade in accordance with planning permission or development consent, or there is a period of temporary (at least 90 days) unsuitability due to accidental damage or otherwise outside of the owners control then any construction or adaptation of the building is not counted as being suitable as a dwelling.

For anyone currently looking to sell property or considering it in the future it is important to understand how your circumstances fit within these new rules. Where you are selling a mixed site it is going to be important to ensure you apply the correct rates of tax on the disposal calculations so that you are not paying higher rates of tax than you should be. Brexit - potential impact on property and construction sector When my colleague, Jeremy Marshall, wrote in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote his tone was one of uncertainty as to how the post referendum world would affect the property market. So three months on what do we know and are we more certain of its effect?

The rules apply to UK property sales made on or after 5 July 2016 where the main purpose or one of the main purposes was to realise a profit or gain on disposal. Whilst the rules were introduced to ensure offshore structures cannot be used to avoid UK tax on dealing in or developing land, they also apply equally to UK based property investors. Are furnished holiday lets the path to follow for your investment property? Should we be investing in furnished holiday lets? Are furnished holiday lets going to give you the greatest ROI?

The simple answer to those questions is “not much more” and “no”? However is that really going to be the case in the medium and long term? The fact is though that nothing dramatic has happened, although interest rates have fallen a further quarter percent since the referendum vote and therefore finance continues to be cheap if it can be obtained.

With recent reductions on the tax relief for Buy-to-Let (B2L) properties, Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) may now be the best way to make the most of your investment.

Whilst foreign investors did take immediate advantage of the weakness in the pound by buying up stock in the commercial market across sectors and regions there have been no significant changes to the residential market. Yet?

There are special rules for properties to qualify as a FHL, these include:

The medium term changes to freedom of movement of people is yet to be felt but there is a still a need and appetite to increase the UK housing stock and to make it affordable for low income and first time buyers in particular so there will be demand for housebuilders, wherever they come from. Of particular interest will be the shockwaves (if any) caused when Article 50 is invoked by March 2017, and confidence in the economy is really tested, probably for the first time since the Brexit vote. It is a case of biding our time. Profits on non-residents from trading and developing UK land Previously, property developers were able to use offshore structures to avoid UK tax on their profits from trading in property in the UK. The Government are now levelling the playing field between UK and offshore property developers by ensuring they are taxed in the same way.

What are the special rules that apply to make a property a FHL?



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The property is in the UK or one of the remaining 27 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) (it is not yet known if these rules will change in the coming years following the Brexit vote). The property must be furnished sufficiently for normal occupation and guests must be entitled to use the furniture. The property must be commercially let i.e. you must intend to make a profit. The property must be available to let for at least 210 days each year and the property must be let for at least 105 days each year; however:

1. If the property is not let for a minimum of 105 days in any one year but this has been met in previous consecutive year(s); or 2. You intended to let the property for the minimum period but you were unable to, the property would still meet the requirements under a period of grace election. If you hold more than one property, you are able to take an average of all the let days to be able to meet the criteria for all your properties. Please note - properties held in the UK are considered separately

As such, non-resident developers of UK properties and land are now within the scope of UK tax. This is irrespective of double tax agreements (DTAs) in place with the country you are resident and also irrespective of whether a UK permanent establishment exists. Please note, the majority of the UK’s international DTAs preserve the UK’s taxing rights over land in the UK and are therefore in line with the proposed changes. However, there are a small number of older DTAs that are being updated to put this position beyond doubt.

to properties held in the EEA. For example, if losses are made on properties held in the EEA they cannot be offset against profits made from properties held in the UK. These rules will impact on your choice of property purchase when investing in a holiday let. Foremost you need to ensure that the property is in a desirable location to maximise the opportunity of it being let on a short-term basis.

Tax advantages of a FHL versus B2L There are also commercial decisions that need to be assessed before making the decision to purchase a FHL let, however the benefits may outweigh purchasing a B2L.

If you would like to attend or learn more about this London based event please click here. Kreston Reeves have made every effort to ensure accuracy at the time of publication. Information may be subject to legislative changes. Recipients should note that information may not reflect individual circumstances and should, therefore, not act on any information without seeking professional advice.

Business Property Relief (BPR) could have the affect of exempting in full or part of the FHL from inheritance tax because a FHL is seen as a business. The amount of relief is dependent on whether or not the property is owned wholly or shared. Generally B2L properties do not attract Inheritance Tax Relief, even if you generate all of your income running a property ‘business’. To date, however, there has not yet been a successful case for a FHL claiming (BPR).

We cannot accept any liability for actions taken or not taken as a result of the information given in this factsheet. Kreston Reeves LLP (the Firm) is a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC328775. Registered office: 37 St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury CT1 2TU. Registered to carry on audit work in the UK and Ireland by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Details about our audit registration can be viewed at www.auditregister.org.uk for the UK and www.cro.ie/auditors for Ireland, under reference number C001541365. A member of Kreston International | A global network of independent accounting firms. Kreston Reeves Financial Planning Limited, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct

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Entrepreneur’s Relief can potentially be claimed and thereby reduce Capital Gains Tax from 18% to 10%. Mortgage interest is a deductible expense for a FHL because they are exempt to the changes announced in the Summer Budget which are set to affect B2L landlords. Capital allowances can be claimed on FHLs for the purchase of various assets, such as white goods, and for certain works completed on the property, such as electrics and heating.

The capital allowance is the most significant benefit available because this can be obtained as soon as you purchase the property but only if the assets have not previously be claimed for. Although additional information gathering is required for this potentially by way of a Surveyor’s Report, - capital allowances are currently set at £200,000 per annum so the benefit of claiming is likely to significantly outweigh the cost. B2L properties can only obtain capital allowances where items are being renewed which significantly lowers the items that qualify and the tax relief given. Tax planning solutions for property investors/landlords Jo White, Kreston Reeves Property Tax Expert, on 10 November will offer solutions and advice on how to successfully invest in UK property. The event organised by Graham Turrell, Director of HighGround Property Investment, and Louise Reynolds, Director of Property Venture® European property investment will cover topical issues for efficient tax planning. Jo will cover the following issues: • • •

The implications of the new UK property tax regime. How best to survive in the new tax landscape - is to sell some, or all, of your buy-to-let portfolio? Considering the most tax efficient ways to grow a property portfolio.

With the seminar as a whole focussed on: • • • •

Changes to tax law and how it might damage property wealth. Ways to minimise the impact of the new UK property taxes on your portfolio. How to grow your portfolio in the most tax-efficient manner. Inspiration or new ideas.

Authority. Registered in England and Wales with registered number 03852054. Registered office: 37 St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury CT1 2TU. Kreston Reeves Corporate Finance LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC306454. Registered office: 37 St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury CT1 2TU. Kreston Reeves Corporate Finance LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Website: www.krestonreeves.com Email: [email protected] Kreston Reeves Property Reach October 2016 © Kreston Reeves