Any Experts on secons home HMRC payments please??

ToadsFriend

Hi guys,

Please could anyone with any experience offer any advice?

To cut a complicated story short, last year I put an offer in for a house and sold mine. the purchase completed before the sale (they were in a huge rush) and I planned to pay the mortgage off with the proceeds of sale..on solicitors advice, I paid the 2nd home stamp duty amount (around £4,500 I think) as she said it was easy to claim back once house sold a couple of weeks later.
THEN buyers of mine dropped out...I had relationship problems and ended up staying in the original house and we sold the 'new' house..(I told you it was complicated!)..
I appreciate it is an unusual situation...but I was told by someone on the helpline at HMRC that I would not be eligible for a refund of the 2nd home payment as it had to be the 'main residence property' that was sold to enable the refund...but they did not seem very sure. I'm sure that cannot be correct, surely?
I do not own 2 homes, just 1 (worth less than 100k!)
Has anyone any experience of this, please? Thank you in advance

[Deleted User]

ToadsFriend wrote: »

Hi guys,

Please could anyone with any experience offer any advice?

To cut a complicated story short, last year I put an offer in for a house and sold mine. the purchase completed before the sale (they were in a huge rush) and I planned to pay the mortgage off with the proceeds of sale..on solicitors advice, I paid the 2nd home stamp duty amount (around £4,500 I think) as she said it was easy to claim back once house sold a couple of weeks later.
THEN buyers of mine dropped out...I had relationship problems and ended up staying in the original house and we sold the 'new' house..(I told you it was complicated!)..
I appreciate it is an unusual situation...but I was told by someone on the helpline at HMRC that I would not be eligible for a refund of the 2nd home payment as it had to be the 'main residence property' that was sold to enable the refund...but they did not seem very sure. I'm sure that cannot be correct, surely?
I do not own 2 homes, just 1 (worth less than 100k!)
Has anyone any experience of this, please? Thank you in advance

Unfortunately it is correct. You would only have been eligible for a rebate if you had sold the original main residence within 3 years of completing the purchase of the new property. You don’t get a rebate for selling the new property.

AdrianC

ToadsFriend wrote: »

To cut a complicated story short, last year I put an offer in for a house and sold mine. the purchase completed before the sale (they were in a huge rush) and I planned to pay the mortgage off with the proceeds of sale..on solicitors advice, I paid the 2nd home stamp duty amount (around £4,500 I think) as she said it was easy to claim back once house sold a couple of weeks later.
THEN buyers of mine dropped out...I had relationship problems and ended up staying in the original house and we sold the 'new' house..(I told you it was complicated!).

So you owned your primary residence, bought an additional house, then sold that house, without it ever being your primary residence.

I appreciate it is an unusual situation...but I was told by someone on the helpline at HMRC that I would not be eligible for a refund of the 2nd home payment as it had to be the 'main residence property' that was sold to enable the refund...but they did not seem very sure. I'm sure that cannot be correct, surely?

It is correct. You have not sold your previous primary residence, so there are no grounds for a refund on the +3% SDLT on the additional residence.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-duty-land-tax-buying-an-additional-residential-property#refund

It's basically the same situation as if somebody bought a property with the intention of letting it, changed their mind, and resold it - or bought it to improve, then resold it.

I do not own 2 homes

Not any more...

ToadsFriend

*cries uncontrollably*

AdrianC

ToadsFriend wrote: »

*cries uncontrollably*

<hug>
Look on the bright side. £4.5k is probably a relatively small proportion of the total cost of the whole saga, right...?

ToadsFriend

Hi Adrian...actually it's not really. Due to a relationship breakdown I didn't move, and almost broke even on the house we bought..but was really relying on getting the second home amount back...

Crashy_Time

Best just to treat it as a learning experience IMO.

ToadsFriend

It just seems really unfair, I totally get why it is there...but I am far from a rich person and wasn't buying to rent out or anything...we just had to proceed at that time quickly or we would have ended up homeless. The solicitor advised it (in good faith though, she couldn't have known our original house sale would fall through) I'd now like to stay in the original house now I'm on my own..

Do you think there is anyone human at HMRC that reviews strange cases like these? and could it be worth appealing?

Just wasn't sure if anyone here had experienced similar.

silvercar

THEN buyers of mine dropped out...I had relationship problems and ended up staying in the original house and we sold the 'new' house..(I told you it was complicated!)..

Who is the "we"? Is this a partner who did move into the new house? As their principal primary residence?

davidmcn

ToadsFriend wrote: »

Do you think there is anyone human at HMRC that reviews strange cases like these? and could it be worth appealing?

It isn't all that strange a case. We've had other people here asking about identical ones. There really is nothing to review or appeal, the rules are the rules and there is no discretion afforded to HMRC.

G_M

ToadsFriend wrote: »

....
I do not own 2 homes, just 1 (worth less than 100k!)

But you did at the point of purchase. Hence the 2nd property surcharge.

told by someone on the helpline at HMRC that I would not be eligible for a refund of the 2nd home payment as it had to be the 'main residence property' that was sold to enable the refund

Correct. That is the rule regarding a refund.

Has anyone any experience of this, please?

It's not uncommon.

Do you think there is anyone human at HMRC that reviews strange cases like these? and could it be worth appealing?

I imagine theree are some humans working there, but they have to follow the rules laid down by Parliament - they have no discretion.