Orsman v HMRC 2012 TC 01921 – Stamp Duty Land Tax

The “slab” basis of Stamp Duty Land Tax on occasion encourages purchasers to try and include part of the purchase price in the exempt “fixtures and fittings” category.  This was just such a case.  HMRC are of course well aware of this ploy

This case concerned whether £800 worth of fitted units in a garage were “land” and therefore subject to SDLT.   If included as land the SDLT bill increased from £2,500 to £7,524.

The Tribunal concluded “that both the worktop and the units were land.  The worktop was fixed to the house and made it possible to use that part of the garage as a working area.   The units had a small degree of affixation but were in place to make the garage a useful storage and work area — a facility which enhanced the house.”

The full report from the First-tier Tribunal can be found here

Hopefully this will be one of the issues dealt with by the introduction of a Scottish Land and Buildings Tax in 2015.   

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