I am a land tax adviser and registered tax agent. I advise buyers, their conveyancers and other professional advisers on Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, Land Transaction Tax in Wales and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland.
My work is the transactions where the tax turns on judgement rather than arithmetic: where the facts could support more than one treatment, the amount at stake is significant, and someone has to decide which treatment to file and be able to defend it.
Nick Garner
Land tax adviser and registered tax agent
When specialist advice is worth having
Most purchases need no specialist at all: the price, the rates and a straightforward return. Advice earns its cost where one of the following applies.
| The question | Why it needs judgement |
|---|---|
| Do the higher rates apply? | The test turns on what each buyer owns anywhere in the world, including inherited shares, property held with a spouse or through a trust, and whether a main residence is being replaced. |
| Residential, mixed use or non-residential? | Land beyond the garden or grounds, a commercial element, or a building that is not a dwelling can change the rates. The boundary is fact-sensitive and HMRC challenge it often. |
| Is this one transaction or several? | Linked transactions, options, staged purchases and apportionment between land and other assets all affect the tax. |
| Who is buying, and from whom? | Companies, partnerships, trusts and connected parties bring their own rules, including market value rules and the anti-avoidance provisions. |
| Transfers within a family | Gifts, transfers of equity, transfers on separation or divorce, and transfers subject to a mortgage, where the chargeable amount is not the obvious figure. |
| Leases | Premiums, rent, lease variations, surrenders and renewals, and the returns that can fall due later. |
| After completion | An HMRC enquiry, a penalty, or a return that may have been wrong: whether it can be amended or a claim made, the time limits, and the risk on each side. |
What I provide
Initial advice by email
Free. My view of your position with the reasoning and the references to legislation and HMRC guidance, written so that it can go to your conveyancer for their own assessment. Many matters end there.
Letter of Advice
A formal, indemnified opinion your conveyancer can rely on and keep on file: the conclusion and recommended treatment, the evidence and analysis, the calculation, the points HMRC may challenge, and how to complete the return.
Filing and HMRC
Where a conveyancer does not want to submit the return, it can be filed through Compass SDLT on the basis of the Letter of Advice. Where HMRC enquire, the Letter sets out the reasoning, and where the position merits it I can act in the enquiry.
Indemnified Letter of Advice
Covered by professional indemnity insurance through Markel International. Complex matters up to £1,250. The fee is always quoted in advance, once I have seen the facts.
Why conveyancers refer clients to me
The buyer is responsible for the return, but the conveyancer usually prepares and files it. Where the treatment is open to argument, many conveyancers prefer not to decide it themselves. A Letter of Advice gives them an insured specialist opinion to file against, and gives the buyer a documented record of the advice taken, which matters if HMRC later ask whether reasonable care was taken.
The Letter is written to be read by both: in plain English for the buyer, with the statutory references and the reasoning a conveyancer needs to rely on it. More for conveyancers.
How it starts
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Email the facts | The property and where it is, the price, the completion date (or expected date), who is buying, and what each buyer already owns in the UK or abroad. Add the contract, the completion statement, or any HMRC letter you have. |
| 2. My reply | I set out the legal position as clearly as the evidence allows, and say whether formal advice is needed. This is free. |
| 3. If more is needed | I quote the fee for a Letter of Advice, or for filing, before any work begins. |
A straight answer either way. If the treatment your conveyancer proposes is right, I will say so. If a claim or a different treatment would carry more risk than it is worth, I will say that too.
Related pages
- The indemnified Letter of Advice
- For conveyancers: referring a client
- Services
- Fees
- Filing through Compass SDLT
- About Nick Garner
Free initial advice on your position
My initial advice by email is free. Its purpose is to understand your position properly and set clear expectations: whether the answer is straightforward or, if formal advice is needed, what it would involve and what it would cost. Please email me the facts, with any documents and correspondence. If my reply is all you need, a Google review or a donation to one of my nominated charities is appreciated. To speak first, call me on 020 4577 3323.
