Stamp Duty in The United Kingdom

Stamp Duty In The United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, stamp duty is a form of tax charged on instruments (that is, written documents), and historically required a physical stamp to be attached to or impressed upon the instrument in question. The more modern versions of the tax no longer require a physical stamp.

The scope of stamp duty has been reduced dramatically in recent years. Apart from transfers of shares and securities, the issue of bearer instruments and certain transactions involving partnerships, stamp duty was largely abolished in the UK from 1 December 2003. "Stamp duty land tax" (SDLT), a new transfer tax derived from stamp duty, was introduced for land transactions from 1 December 2003. "Stamp duty reserve tax" (SDRT) was introduced on agreements to transfer uncertificated shares and other securities in 1986, and with the growth of paperless transactions SDRT rather than stamp duty now applies to most transfers of shares and securities.