united-kingdom england-and-wales tax-law
Stamp duty liability when adding partner to mortgage? (UK)
<p>My friend and her partner have recently moved in together (England). Her partner owns a property that is now being let out, and she has added him to her mortgage.</p>
<p>They were under the impression he would be liable to pay Stamp Duty as he now owns a second property, however the solicitor has told them he doesn't need to pay it.</p>
<p>Is this classed differently as he has been added to the mortgage and not &quot;purchased&quot; a property together?</p>

<p>Web search for &quot;stamp duty&quot; ownership change.</p>
<p>First result:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sdlt-transferring-ownership-of-land-or-property#if-you-marry-enter-into-a-civil-partnership-or-set-up-home-together" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Stamp Duty Land Tax: transfer ownership of land or property</a></p>
<p>You may need to pay <a href="https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Stamp Duty Land Tax</a> when all or part of an interest in land or property is transferred to you and you give anything of monetary value in exchange.</p>
<p>Anything of monetary value that you give in exchange is called the ‘chargeable consideration’.</p>
<p>The rules you use to work out how much Stamp Duty Land Tax you pay depend on the circumstances of the property transfer. ...</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If the partner takes liability for the mortgage, the partner will have 'chargeable consideration' for their share of the property.</p>
<p>For example (summarising from that page) the partner takes on 50% of a £600,000 mortgage. So £300,000 is the 'chargeable consideration' for the share of the property. Current SDLT threshold for residential property is £250,000. Partner pays 0% x £250,000 + 5% x £50,000 = £2,500.</p>
<p>If on the other hand the partner's chargeable consideration is less than the SDLT threshold there is no tax to pay but &quot;you must still tell HMRC about the transaction on an Stamp Duty Land Tax return&quot;.</p>
