Stamp Duty is a tax payable:

• A. on the documents used to transfer property ownership.
• B. when selling a property.
• C. when sending the title deeds by post to the land registry.
• D. when putting a deposit down to purchase a property.

Answer: (A)

Stamp duty is a tax charged on the legal document that actually transfers ownership of the property. When the transfer deed or conveyance is prepared and executed to effect the change in ownership, stamp duty is due because the transfer of title is happening through that document. It isn’t triggered by selling a property you already own, nor by sending title deeds by post, nor by paying a deposit. Those steps are part of the process, but the tax itself applies to the instrument that records the transfer of ownership.