Extra 3% stamp duty just for breaking a chain?

bogbrush_

In the current uncertain climate we are finding it impossible to move house because chains keep breaking. To try to simplify things, we've decided to try to separate sale and purchase. Instead of completing sale and purchase on the same day, we are proposing to buy our next home, then sell our old place some time later (in the current market, it could be several months later).

Our problem is that it looks like we'd have to pay 3% extra stamp duty (about £30,000 in this case). This seems like a huge penalty for just trying to unblock the moving process in difficult times.

Does anyone have any experience of this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Slinky

You can claim the extra 3% back if you sell the original home within 3 years (currently, although I think that may be reducing at some future point).


We bought our new house 18 months ago and intend to sell our original home this year and claim the extra back.

p00hsticks

You can reclaim the extra stamp duty if/when you sell your previous home within 3 years (I think) of buying the new one.

To avoid it you could always break the chain the other way - by selling your existing prperty first and then moving into rented while you look for a new one to buy.

bogbrush_

Thanks for the quick replies - what a great forum!

Would this always be a 100% refund, or is it proportional to the amount of time you had two houses, or something like that?

The whole refund thing makes me nervous - not sure I trust the government to return money after it's been handed it over.

davidmcn

bogbrush_ wrote: »

Would this always be a 100% refund, or is it proportional to the amount of time you had two houses, or something like that?

The whole refund thing makes me nervous - not sure I trust the government to return money after it's been handed it over.

It's a 100% refund. Yes, you'll get the money back, don't be daft. It's the law. They're not necessarily quick at processing it though.

G_M

As above. 100% refund.


Or short term if you sell within the 30 day deadline for SDLT payment then you never pay the 3% extra at all.

Slinky

As far as I'm aware, you need to tell the solicitor handling the sale of your first house that there will be a reclaim of Stamp Duty involved for them to deal with.

bloke.in.a.fix

I have a similar situation, and am trying to work out whether I'll need to pay the extra 3%. I have a main home and a holiday home. My main home is sold STC and I plan to move temporarily to the holiday home while I look to purchase a new main home. Assuming I want to keep the holiday home, will I have to pay an extra 3% on my purchase?

pphillips

bloke.in.a.fix wrote: »

I have a similar situation, and am trying to work out whether I'll need to pay the extra 3%. I have a main home and a holiday home. My main home is sold STC and I plan to move temporarily to the holiday home while I look to purchase a new main home. Assuming I want to keep the holiday home, will I have to pay an extra 3% on my purchase?

Yes, you still have to pay it when you purchase a new main home.
Moving into the holiday home makes no difference.

bloke.in.a.fix

pphillips wrote: »

Yes, you still have to pay it when you purchase a new main home.
Moving into the holiday home makes no difference.

Thanks. But if I sell the holiday home within 3 years of purchasing the new place do I get the 3% back?

pinklady21

My understanding is that if you are swapping your main residence (owned)for another main residence also owned, you have up to three years from the date you sell your main residence to reclaim the additional 3% stamp duty.