The Inland Revenue have backed off on charging excess tax to pensioners who want to raise money on their property.
Now those who sell part of their property under home reversion schemes will pay stamp duty only on the money released and not as was feared the entire property's value.
A home reversion scheme is a plan where you sell all or part of your home to a company which then gives you a tax-free lump sum. This money can then be used for anything including living expenses, home improvements or just having some liquid cash in the bank. However the lump sum is at a discount to the property's true value. With the home reversion scheme in place you are given the right to live in the property rent free until you die or decide to move. When the property is finally sold the proportion of the property's value goes to the company.
In the March 2005 Budget the Chancellor proposed changing the basis for calculating stamp duty. He stated that it should be on the whole property's value rather than just the percentage sold. This would have meant that if a couple released £120k from a property worth more than £250k 3% stamp would have been charged. But with the new rules there would be no stamp duty to pay. This is because the first level of stamp duty is just 1% on a value up to £120k.
Summary
As we said in the title this is excellent news for those wanting to release capital via a home reversion scheme. However for many pensioners home equity release and home reversion schemes are complex to understand. Make sure you ALWAYS get professional advice and do as much research into this topic as you can
