Claiming back Stamp Duty

dllive

Hi

Ive bought a house which needs complete renovation. At the moment its un-inhabitable.

Because I already own a house I had to pay the higher rate stamp duty (£6k) because the government saw it as being my 'second home'.

The plan is to renovate the property; move in; and sell my current house within 6 months.

Am I able to claim back the £6k when I sell my current house and move into the new house?

Thanks

dunroving

dllive wrote: »

Hi

Ive bought a house which needs complete renovation. At the moment its un-inhabitable.

Because I already own a house I had to pay the higher rate stamp duty (£6k) because the government saw it as being my 'second home'.

The plan is to renovate the property; move in; and sell my current house within 6 months.

Am I able to claim back the £6k when I sell my current house and move into the new house?

Thanks

If the additional stamp duty was £6k, than you will be able to reclaim. If the total stamp duty was £6k, then the amount you can reclaim will be lower. You can reclaim as soon as you sell house #1, it doesn't have to wait until you move into house #2 (though both are likely to occur on the same day).

dllive

Thanks dunroving. The £6k was in addition to the basic stamp duty I paid.

When I sell my current house, will I have to pay capital gains on it?

pinklady21

Depending on where you are in the UK, then there will be a different time limit determining how long you have to sell the first property and reclaim the 3%.
In England it is 3 years, in Scotland 18 months, not sure about Wales or NI.

Pixie5740

pinklady21 wrote: »

Depending on where you are in the UK, then there will be a different time limit determining how long you have to sell the first property and reclaim the 3%.
In England it is 3 years, in Scotland 18 months, not sure about Wales or NI.

If the OP was in Scotland or Wales (s)he wouldn't have paid stamp duty.

Pixie5740

dllive wrote: »

Thanks dunroving. The £6k was in addition to the basic stamp duty I paid.

When I sell my current house, will I have to pay capital gains on it?

You can reclaim the higher rate over and above the basic rate of SDLT if you sell your original main home within 3 years and there won't be any capital gains tax to pay given the timescales you are talking about.

pinklady21

Pixie5740 wrote: »

If the OP was in Scotland or Wales (s)he wouldn't have paid stamp duty.

Why would that be?

dunroving

pinklady21 wrote: »

Why would that be?

"Stamp Duty in Scotland is now called Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT)..." maybe that's what was meant. Bit pedantic if you ask me. ;-)

pinklady21

Strictly speaking it wouldn't be called Stamp Duty anymore in England either..... it is SDLT Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Maybe the Pendantry Police are indeed out and about today -I read it differently that there is no such tax in Scotland or Wales when purchasing property. Which would not be accurate either!

dunroving

pinklady21 wrote: »

Strictly speaking it wouldn't be called Stamp Duty anymore in England either..... it is SDLT Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Maybe the Pendantry Police are indeed out and about today -I read it differently that there is no such tax in Scotland or Wales when purchasing property. Which would not be accurate either!

Yes, would be £2,000 + £6,000 on a £245k property, I believe ....

Pixie5740

pinklady21 wrote: »

Strictly speaking it wouldn't be called Stamp Duty anymore in England either..... it is SDLT Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Maybe the Pendantry Police are indeed out and about today -I read it differently that there is no such tax in Scotland or Wales when purchasing property. Which would not be accurate either!

On more than one occasion you have used Stamp Duty or SDLT interchangeably with LBTT in Scotland and now you're doing it with LTT in Wales. Stamp Duty or Stamp Duty Land Tax to give it its full title is not the same as the taxes in Scotland or Wales.