A tax charged on legal documents, property transfers, or share transactions is called stamp duty.
The name comes from the physical stamps once impressed or attached to documents to show that the tax had been paid. Governments have used stamp duties on agreements, leases, mortgages, insurance policies, and securities transactions. In some jurisdictions, the tax is now paid electronically rather than with a paper stamp.
Stamp duty is commonly associated with property purchases, but its scope varies by country. The United Kingdom, for example, applies Stamp Duty Land Tax to certain land and property transactions in England and Northern Ireland, while Scotland uses a separate Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. Australia also has state-based stamp duties, whose rules differ between states and territories.
Stamp duty is not the same as a sales tax or a property tax. It is generally triggered by a specified document or transaction, often when ownership or a legal interest changes.