Stamp Duty Exemption

Applications for stamp duty exemptions and status of land correspondence are being offered at DevelopTT – the digital platform of the Town and Country Planning Division (TCPD) of the Ministry of Planning and Development.

These additional e-services initially will serve two regions of TT. These areas are the T1 planning region inclusive of the Diego Martin regional corporation, Port of Spain city corporation and part of the San Juan/Laventille regional corporation, and the T5 planning region namely the Chaguanas borough corporation, the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo regional corporation, Tunapuna/ Piarco regional corporation and part of the San Juan/ Laventille regional corporation.

The stamp duty exemption and status of land correspondence are now paperless applications, and letters of certification will be received digitally. These new services aim to further enhance the government’s goals of digitizing public services and making it easier to do business in TT.

Any registered user of DevelopTT having a TTBizLink passcode can utilize the online services. Individuals who are not registered can do so at www.developtt.gov.tt.

Stamp duty is a tax that must be paid when doing certain transactions that require legal documents. Deeds of conveyance, deeds of gift, deeds of mortgage, release of mortgage loan, release of life insurance policies, transfer of shares, deeds of lease, deed polls, bonds, and any other deeds, require “stamping” which means users must pay duty.

The public is required to pay stamp duty tax to the Inland Revenue Division (IRD) when buying real estate or a home, seeking a mortgage, or doing other financial transactions. Stamp duty tax exemption may be requested from the IRD when buying, selling or disposing of residential properties valued at TT $1,500,000 or less.

When requesting this exemption, a status of land correspondence is required from the TCPD. The correspondence will detail whether there are any TCPD approvals on or related to the site, the purpose for which the land can be used, and whether the parcel is bonafide (i.e. a legal entity previously created by a subdivision approval or in existence prior to the TCPD Act.

Applications must include a deed or certificate of title, cadastral sheet/survey plan for the site in question. A status of land correspondence requires a certificate of environmental clearance from the Environmental Management Authority.

For more information or if you have questions, please contact The Board of Inland Revenue. The above information is provided for information purposes only. We cannot offer advice on these matters.