Conveyancing fees are set to rise from May 2026 as solicitors and licensed conveyancers will be required to register as tax advisers to continue submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) returns on behalf of clients.

Under the new mandatory regime, any business or individual assisting others with their tax affairs for payment must register before interacting with HMRC. That will include conveyancing firms handling SDLT submissions as part of their service.

To qualify, firms and their senior personnel must meet a series of eligibility conditions, including maintaining a clean tax record, being supervised for anti-money laundering purposes, holding no relevant criminal or professional sanctions and complying with HMRC’s Standards for Agents.

Although HMRC has said there will be no charge for initial registration or remaining on the register, firms are expected to face indirect costs linked to compliance, administration, training and annual renewal requirements.

COSTS PASSED ON

Eddie Goldsmith (main picture, inset), co-founder of YouConvey, warned that the additional burden is likely to be passed on to consumers.

Writing for Mortgage Soup, he said: “The current regime already costs customers – typically solicitors and conveyancers charge £50 to £75 for submission of the SDLT Return. But this fee is likely to increase substantially to cover the costs associated with the new mandatory system,” he said.

“Key personnel in firms will need to be registered individually and there will be an annual renewal costs associated – no doubt including training requirements and associated costs involved in maintaining internal records within firms.”

TIME TO REVIEW FEES

Goldsmith added that while outsourcing SDLT submissions to third parties is an option, many firms will want to retain the function in-house as part of a holistic conveyancing service.

He said: “This feels to me as if firms are going to need to realistically review their fees in line with the new regime and it would not surprise me to see typical charges for SDLT services rising to £150-£200 per transaction.

“In itself not a huge figure when compared with the overall cost of a conveyancing transaction but when added to the cost of SDLT itself it is an unwelcome and some would say an unnecessary addition to the cost of buying or moving home.”

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