In a profession where time is currency and fixed fees are often agreed, solicitors more than ever are looking at streamlining their processes.
Stamp Duty Land Tax is often seen as an afterthought by solicitors having completed a transaction. The matter has completed, the bill has been raised and the post-completion matter of filing an SDLT Return seems burdensome. Quite often, this task is delegated to a junior member of the team as their time is cheaper. The need to calculate SDLT and inform the client however comes much earlier in the transaction, when terms of engagement are issued with likely disbursements/costs or when solicitors are seeking to collect monies from their client prior to completion. It is therefore imperative to limit the time spent calculating SDLT so as to reduce scope to exceed the fixed fee.
POROS’ SDLT calculators have a number of features which help in this regard:
(1) Calculate VAT automatically on the rent on the click of a box;
(2) Rent-free periods/multiple rent apportionments can be factored into your calculation simply by inserting the relevant rental figures and date at which the rent increases;
(3) Save your calculations so that you can revisit them at a later date.
By minimising the amount of mental arithmetic required when calculating a tenant’s SDLT liability, not only can significant time savings be gained but scope for error is reduced significantly. Solicitors are therefore strongly advised to use POROS in calculating their clients’ SDLT liability.
For more information, please contact us at [email protected]