July 31, 2007
How The Inland Revenue UK Can Help You
Existing homeowners and new buyers may not know this but the Inland Revenue UK may be able to help you reclaim thousands. If you have recently bought a house, or are about to make a purchase, you need to consider the area of stamp duty.
With the prospect of the costly addition of stamp duty, it seems like constant expensive obstacles are put in front of you. But how sure are you about paying stamp duty? You have probably assumed that your legal representative, when purchasing your property, has ensured that you have to pay it. UK stamp duty is a self assessed tax which means it is your responsibility to determine how much is required of you. In some cases, many have paid up to thousands in duty in recent years without knowing they could be exempt. The reason behind this is due to exemption areas not being updated by the government to give an accurate calculation of the stamp duty rates. There are wards around the country that have been exempt from this expensive tax, so do not be one of them those who has paid the duty needlessly. This is your money that you have paid, perhaps for no reason.
By contacting the Inland Revenue UK, you may be able to determine whether or not you need to pay the charge. If not, then you should be able to claim a refund. The trouble is, many professionals just do not tell you about this, as the onus is on you to find out about it. This is money that you could certainly do with keeping for yourself.
With the economy growing faster than anticipated, the Government has had to react by increasing the Base Rate. Fixed rate borrowers could feel the bite when their current deals end. But follow some simple advice and you could soften that blow.
Fixed rate borrowers whose mortgage deals end over the next few months should brace themselves for a financial shock as their repayments could soar overnight.
Two years ago the bank of England's base rate was 4.75 per cent and today it is 5.75 per cent. Based on these rates, a couple with a 25 year £150,000 interest only mortgage, currently paying £593.75 a month could see their repayments rocket by £125 to £718.75 as their fixed rate deal comes to an end.
The scale of the problem is huge. Local borrowers are already reacting and have seen a large number of people looking to secure a new competitive rate deal as soon as their current product ends. But they cannot avoid the markets rising costs.
The Bank of England has left borrowers in no doubt that they will raise interest rates again if necessary in order to curb inflation, and lenders have already factored this in when pricing their current fixed rate deals. With this pricing, borrowers should not automatically jump into another fixed rate offer, but look at the full range of products out there. Instead, they should look at their personal circumstances and use this as a guide as to which type of loan they choose. The worst scenario is if borrowers do not get organized, do nothing, and end up transferring on to the lenders standard variable rate, as their pockets will be hit the hardest.
Re-mortgaging Tips
* Speak to your financial adviser ahead of time to find a new deal, particularly if you think interest rates could rise again before your current arrangement ends. It typically takes between four to six weeks for the paperwork to go through, so it is possible to secure your new fixed rate product several months in advance.
* If you are fixing your mortgage, think carefully about the length of deal you are prepared to tie into. Be cautious about entering into a deal for longer than five years without a real financial planning need, as you will not benefit if rates fall in the future. Remember, moving your mortgage within the product term will typically incur yearly repayment charges, so it is usually best to wait until your existing deal ends.
* Be clear with the legal team handling the re-mortgage that you wish to complete on the day your existing product end date.
For more information on how to get the Inland Revenue UK to help you to save, visit www.stampdutyrefund.co.uk
Tags: Mortgage, inland revenue, mortgage, stamp duty