Owners of both residential and commercial property need to be aware that the government is now reducing the amount of time that is allowed to pay stamp duty land tax from 2019

The window of completion of tax returns and payment for SDLT is being cut from 30 days to 14 days, this will apply from 1^st March 2019. 1^st April 2019 would be the start of the usual tax year so this needs to be accounted for.

When this effect will take place on the 1 March 2019, it will then be available for final review and introduced via a statutory instrument. It will reduce the amount of time limit to make this stamp duty and land tax and pay this due tax.

This measure was initially announced in the autumn budget but then Chancellor George Osborne; it was meant to come into effect the last tax year but was subsequently delayed until 2019.

It was claimed by the government that HMRC needed enough time to address the issues which arose from the new consultation. The changes when they were announced were initially met with strong opposition.

It was revealed that there were almost 100 written responses sent to HMRC in regards to the concern of the new logistical changes that were being made by the government. It was argued that changes would make it very difficult in some instances to comply with the reduced time limit available for these SDLT returns to be made.

However, HMRC has said that reducing the amount of information required in the return will make compliance with the new timescale significantly easier.