Landlords, property agents must charge 6% stamp duty from tenants says FIRS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has directed landlords and property agents to charge six per cent stamp duty on all tenancy and lease agreements.

FIRS gave the directive in a statement on Wednesday by Director, Communications and Liaison Department Abdullahi Ahmad.

The landlords and property agents, according to Ahmad are to remit such collections to FIRS “so that they do not run foul of the Stamp Duty Act.”

Stamp Duties payment is enabled by the Stamp Duties Act (SDA) 1939, as amended by numerous Acts and various resolutions contained in the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. The SDA also provides a list of documents in its schedule and the duty payable on each.

The Finance Act 2019 states that “the Federal Inland Revenue Service shall be the only competent authority to impose, charge and collect duties upon instruments specified in the Schedule to this Act if such instrument relates to matters executed between a company and an individual, group or body of individuals.”

The total Stamp Duty collection for 2019 was N18 billion.

“Property-related transactions like tenancy or lease agreement fall under the Ad Valorem category of the stamp duty which attracts six per cent duty payable in percentage of the total value or sum of the tenancy or lease,” Ahmad said.

Ahmad said the burden of payment of the six percent “lies on the beneficiary of the tenancy or lease agreement, whom the Stamp Duty Act identified as the tenant or renter.”

He stated that the responsibility of collection and remittance fall on the landlord or agent in charge of the property for lease or rent. The party making the payment shall have the obligation to account for the applicable stamp duties.

Other stamp duty types and their rates, according to the statement, are Appraisement or Valuation of Property, .5 per cent; Certificate of Occupancy and Partnership, N1,000 flat rate; Gift of Land, 1.5 per cent and Legal Mortgage, 0.375 per cent.

Others are Legal Mortgage (Upstamping), 0.375 per cent; Deed of Conveyance or Transfer on Sale of Property, 1.5 per cent; Memorandum of Understanding (Related to Land, Sales, Joint Venture, Surrender, Subdivision Agreements, 1.5 per cent; Power of Attorney (Irrevocable/Land Related), 1.5 per cent and Sales Agreement, 1.5 per cent.