UK couples who aren't married issued warning which could save them thousands

Unmarried couples have been advised to think about tying the knot sooner rather than later if they want to save some serious money.

It's no surprise that there are certain tax breaks married couples enjoy that the untethered among us don't.

And if you're planning on getting hitched and buying a new home in the near future, you may want to think about bringing the date forward.

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According to experts, it could save people thousands of pounds.

Writing in to The Guardian, one couple asked for some advice: "We have been informed we need to pay the higher rates of stamp duty because of my second property which for this purchase equates to approximately £15,000 and will be required on completion.

"We understand the main residence argument doesn’t apply to this transaction although I haven’t lived in my property for more than a year and everything is registered including electoral roll at my partner’s address.

"There is conflicting advice about whether as a married couple we wouldn’t be required to pay the extra tax and we thought rather unromantically about bringing the marriage service forward and using the £15,000 towards something else."

In response, a legal expert from the newspaper said they were sadly correct and should potentially think about moving their wedding date in order to save some money.

"Your interpretation of the guidance given in HM Revenue and Customs’ online stamp duty land tax (SDLT) manual – which applies in England and Northern Ireland – is correct," they said.

"If you are married or in a civil partnership, the higher rates of SDLT do not apply to a joint purchase of a new main residence where a married couple both own property but have lived together in one of the properties as their main residence.

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"Both halves of a married couple or civil partnership buying jointly count as replacing a main residence even though it’s actually only one half.

"As an unmarried couple, you do have to pay the higher rates so I suggest that bringing your wedding forward makes the most financial sense."

The expert added that they actually thought it was probably the more romantic thing to do, though explained that the law is different depending where you live.

"And given that it will mean that you have £15,000 to spend on something more fun than a tax bill, I disagree that it’s an unromantic thing to do," they offered.

"The tax rules are different in Wales and Scotland, but in your scenario you would not have to pay the additional tax in either if you were married.

"In fact, in Scotland it does not matter if you are married or not."

Who said romance was dead, eh?

Topics: UK News, Money, Sex and Relationships

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom