UK Stamp Duty Land Tax Online Filing Doubles In A Year

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

17 January 2008

One in two legal practitioners are now submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) forms online, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has revealed this week.

The percentage of solicitors and conveyancers submitting forms electronically has more than doubled in a year, according to the UK tax authority.

In December 2006, 35,753 registered online, 22% of all legal practitioners, but by December last year that number had increased to 65,346, up to 46%.

A research study into online filing, published this week on the HMRC website, revealed that solicitors and conveyancers said that the main benefit of online filing is that it makes "registration clear and easy".

The research found the other benefits for those using online filing are:

• The ability to print off an immediate land transaction certificate;
• General speed/turnaround time and ease of completion;
• Fewer errors as the system highlights mistakes as you go along;
• Fewer document losses and delays; and
• Fewer SDLT 8s (HMRC form used for missing items/errors), fines and frustrations.

HMRC Head of Stamp Taxes for Online Services, Sally Mills, explained that:

"By providing an online filing system, we have simplified the processes for solicitors and conveyancers, and this increase in the numbers of people filing online for SDLT certificates shows that we are moving in the right direction. We are very pleased at their high take-up of online filing."

She concluded:

"Filing online is quick, easy and convenient. If you submit a return online, you'll automatically be sent a Land Transaction Certificate (Form SDLT 5) electronically, saving both time and resources. You then print off the electronic certificate and send it to the relevant land registry, which registers change of ownership."

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