IHTM33071 - Sales: date of sale or purchase

Under IHTA84/S198 (1), the date of sale or purchase for the purposes of this relief is usually the date on which a person enters into a contract to sell or purchase it, provided the contract proceeds to completion, Jones (Balls’ Administrators) v IRC [1997] STC358.

But this rule is modified if

• the sale or purchase results from the exercise of an option where, if the option is exercised (by the appropriate person or by any other person) not more than six months after the grant of the option, the material date is the date the option was granted, IHTA84/S198 (2)
• the sale is the result of a notice issued under compulsory purchase powers ( IHTM33091), where the date of sale is generally the date on which compensation is agreed or otherwise determined or, if earlier, the date when the authority enters the land, IHTA84/S198 (3)
• the sale is an acquisition under a general vesting declaration or (in Northern Ireland) a vesting order where the date of sale is the last day of the period specified in the declaration or the date when the vesting order becomes operative, IHTA84/S198 (4).

In Scotland, it is not wholly clear when a real right to property passes for example on the conclusion of missives, on the signing of a disposition or on the recording/registration of the title.

Where you have a case involving any of the above modifications you should refer to TG for advice.