Stamp Duty Advise Please

mrsbun2002

My husband purchased his first property in Scotland in 1999. In 2013 we changed the mortgage to Buy-to-let, as we moved to a house he had renovated. In January 2016 we moved unexpectedly due to his work, obtaining a consent to rent on the renovated home. We currently have tenants in both homes.

Husbands work rented us a property in England, affording us the time to search for a school and a new home. We purchased a house in August 2016, having to pay the new rate of stamp duty. It now looks as though we may have to move again :-( Is there a time frame whereby we'd get the stamp duty back, or will we have to fork out even more with the next house purchase?

Thank you for reading this :-)

BJV

Sorry think once it is done it is done and gone. The joys of house buying????

Bob_Bank_Spanker_2

The house purchased in August 2016 is, presumably your main residence. If you replace this (ie sell this house and buy your next house on the same day) you will face no additional SDLT. If you buy a new house (4th house?) and do not sell your August 2016 property (3rd house?) you will have to pay the additional 3%. If you then sell 3rd house within 3 years you can get a refund of the additional SDLT.

booksurr

as long as you retain one or both rental properties you will always have to pay the higher rate SDLT on the purchase of another, whether it will be you main home or not. However, the refund rule in respect of the purchase of a new main property is:

3.19A For purchases on or before 26 November 2018, there is a replacement of a main residence if, at any time before the purchase, the purchaser, or their spouse or civil partner, disposed of a major interest in another dwelling and the purchaser has not purchased another main residence in the period between that disposal and the new purchase. That other dwelling must have been, at some time, the only or main residence of the purchaser.

3.20 For purchases on or after 27 November 2018, there is a replacement of a main residence if, in the three years ending with the purchase, the purchaser disposed of a major interest in another dwelling and that other dwelling was, at some time in the three year period, the only or main residence of the purchaser.

3.23 It is only the first acquisition of a new main residence that is treated as a replacement, so if two purchase transactions are entered into within three years of a disposal (or on or before 26 November 2018), only the first acquisition of a new
main residence is a replacement.

your house purchased in Aug 16 is the current main residence therefore it is the sale of that house which will be the property that is being replaced for the purposes of the SDLT refund.

sale of either of your two rental properties is now irrelevant as neither can qualify as your main home being replaced since you have had another home since vacating both of them

booksurr

BJV wrote: »

Sorry think once it is done it is done and gone. The joys of house buying????

try informing yourself of the rules first
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/570876/SDLT_Higher_rates_for_additional_properties.pdf

booksurr

Bob_Bank_Spanker wrote: »

If you then sell 3rd house within 3 years you can get a refund of the additional SDLT.

not quite, there is a transition period up until 26 Nov 2018 when there is a subtle difference as outlined above. The Govt amended the rules after they were published in the March 2016 guide and produced a revised guide in Nov 2016