SDLTM09965 - SDLT - increased rates for non-resident transactions: Record keeping and evidence of presence in the UK

HMRC recognise that as a tax, SDLT is not something that the majority of customers encounter on a frequent basis nor is undertaking a property transaction something that is necessarily planned for.

Furthermore, HMRC understand that although customers will or are likely to have access to records relating to their property purchase (such as contracts, completion statements, records of payments etc.), they may not have kept contemporaneous records of their location on a day to day basis, especially if their property purchase was undertaken at short notice.

Consequently, when considering whether a purchaser was present in the UK during the relevant period for the purpose of considering the tests at paragraphs 4 and 5 Sch 9A FA03, HMRC would look for evidence that establishes the individual’s presence in or outside of the UK and the following information would help establish the facts:

• credit card and bank statements which indicate place of the purchaser’s day by day expenditure;
• work diaries or planners, including timesheets or rosters;
• mobile phone usage and bills pointing to the individual’s presence in a country;
• general overheads – utility bills which may demonstrate that the individual has been present in the UK, for example, telephone bills or energy bills;
• membership and usage of clubs, for example, sports, health or social clubs.

The list above is not definitive and HMRC will consider the weight and quality of all the evidence provided. HMRC will however take a pragmatic approach, in particular to considering a purchaser’s digital footprint as evidence of a presence in the UK.