Can I apply for stamp duty (3%) refund?

cidfenmaria

Hi,

I have sold my previous house (previous main home) and moved to a new home recently and have paid 3% extra stamp duty for it as I didn't sell the old home at the same time.

So now I own 2 properties at this point under my sole name.

the gov website says if I sell (or dispose) the previous main resident home within 36 months I can apply for the refund of that 3% stamp duty paid.

Now I decide to gift the old house to my wife. In this case am I still qualified for the stamp duty refund?

appreciate for any advice

Thanks

andrewjb3

No. Your wife and you are one entity as far as the 3% stamp duty is concerned.

bowlhead99

You say you have 'sold my previous house (previous main home)' and moved to a new one but you didn't get it sold at the same time, so had to pay the extra stamp.

Then you say you own 2 properties at this point under your sole name. Do you mean 'at this point' i.e., 'today', or do you mean at the point at which you completed your purchase without first completing a sale.?

Your very first line after the "Hi" was "I have sold my previous house (previous main home)" but now you are saying "Now I decide to gift the old house to my wife". How can you decide to gift her something you have already sold?

Do you mean there is a third house somewhere which you are giving her? Or did you not mean to say in your opening line "I have sold my previous house" and instead meant to say "I am considering selling my previous house, or maybe I will give it to my wife..."

Perhaps you mean that you were going to sell your old main house, but instead bought a new home first, creating a 3% stamp duty premium charge, and now you are wondering whether it makes a difference if you sell that old main home within 36 months or gift it to your wife instead...?

Basically if either of you or your spouse own a property you are considered to both own it for the purposes of 'how many properties do I have' calculations. So if you sell it to an unconnected third party you have disposed of it as part of a process to replace your main residence with a new main residence and you can get your stamp duty back even if there is a 35 month delay while you temporarily own two places.

But if you sell or gift it to your wife, then you have gone from having 1 house to having 1 residential house and 1 other house (owned via your wife's name) and so you have increased the number of spousal properties rather than just replacing your main residence, so you need to pay the 3% premium I would expect. So there is nothing to reclaim in that scenario.

cidfenmaria

Sorry typo I haven't sold previous home yet, I meant to say I replaced our main home.