It's a pain, an extra cost we need to save for, but there's no way around it... Stamp Duty is here and we've got to pay it! But when you are looking at properties and starting the bidding process, how can be sure how much your stamp duty will be? Our quick tip shows you how to calculate it!
Stamp Duty Rate
1% of the property purchase price up to €1 million.
+
2% of the balance over €1 million.
This essentially means that for 99% of properties which cost less than €1 million, we only need to worry about the 1% rate.
If you don't use maths regularly, working out percentages can be a pain! But luckily for 1% there is a couple of quick ways to do it.
Method 1: Multiply the purchase price by 0.01
To get 1% of a number, you just need to multiply it by 0.01 (that is just 1% in a decimal format).
So if the purchase price for a property is €350,000, in a calculator just punch 350000 x .01. This will give you 3500, so the Stamp Duty you will need to pay is €3,500.
Method 2: Divide the purchase price by 100
As luck would have it, 1% of a number is 1/100th of a number. So, to get 1% of the purchase price, we just need to divide it by 100.
So, if the purchase price of a property is €420,000, in a calculator just punch 420000 ÷ 100. This will give you 4200 and so the Stamp Duty you will need to pay is €4,200.
Extra Trick! If you remember your school days, to divide something by 100, you can just move the decimal place two places to the left. So for 420000 you end up with 4200.00 or €4,200.
Check out our House Buyer Basics Guide to Stamp Duty
We recently purchase a Basics guide to Instagram explaining Stamp Duty in More detail. Here is the link!