Stamp Duty Clawback-moving abroad

Hi folks..need some advice. I bought an apartment last year for 255K.As a first time buyer i paid no stamp duty on the apartment.I am now planning to move to Australia for a few years with my company. The initial plan was to rent the apartment while i am over there. However i have been informed that if i rent my apartment while out of the country it would be classed as an investment property and i would then be liable to pay back the stamp duty.

This lump sum amounts to approx €10000 so it is a hefty amount of money which i did not budget for.

Is there any way around this? I am sure a lot of people do this informally and rent out their apartment to people they know who wont claim tax relief on rental payments and therefore the taxman wont be aware of the situation. however i dont think i will be in that position and i will need to rent it through a management company. i dont want to come back from OZ with a massive tax bill hanging over me. that would be a severe comedown from OZ!!

Surely there must be some loophole to this?
Anyways any advice would be very helpful.
Thanks

Re: Stamp Duty Clawback

RMUL90 said:

I am sure a lot of people do this informally and rent out their apartment to people they know who wont claim tax relief on rental payments and therefore the taxman wont be aware of the situation.

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This is tax evasion-no other name for it.

Regardless-your tenants will be entitled to claim tax relief and this will leave you in a tight spot.

Also-be mindful of the fact that you may be obliged to register with the PRTB.

Re: Stamp Duty Clawback

You should certainly have a read of this thread-a little long, but some very useful information contained therein.

P.S. Any posts recommending the 'don't tell the taxman-you'll be grand' route will be deleted.

While registration with the PRTB does provide benefits to both tenants and Landlords, registration is not obligatory. The above 'tight spot' need not materialise.

summerhill said:

While registration with the PRTB does provide benefits to both tenants and Landlords, registration is not obligatory. The above 'tight spot' need not materialise.

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This is 100% WRONG. Registration IS obligatory and non-compliance will result in fines and leaves the landlord open to further investigation from Revenue.

There are execeptions, ie where the landlord lives in the apt, but I don't believe any of the exceptions are applicable in this instance.

You should also be aware that the clawback payment is due on the date that you first start receiving rent on the property so instead of a come down after Oz, you would most likely be heading off on a downer!!!

summerhill said:

While registration with the PRTB does provide benefits to both tenants and Landlords, registration is not obligatory. The above 'tight spot' need not materialise.

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Can you show me where you got this nugget of info?

Not only is it obligatory but I understand that from now on anyone who doesn't register with the tenancies board will not be entitled to loan interest on the property as a deduction against rental income

Summerhill might be getting confused with the rent-a-room scheme under which you are not obliged to register with the PRTB.

I have two investment properties and always try my best to stay within the guidelines to the best of my ability. Despite the fact that both properties have long standing tenants who were in residence long before the PRTB even existed, I have made the necessar6y equiries directly to the Board and believe me, It is compulsary. So much so that its €70 to register up to 28 days after the tenancy commences and €140 thereafter. My tenants were living there years before the Board existed and I still got hit for the €140 ....strange but true.

Buckshee - why didn't you just have the tenants sign up a new tenancy? Would that not have worked to avail of teh lower rate?