Double Stamp Duty to pay?

lietuve

Hi, for a bit of advice: husband had a house, which was our main residence. We just purchased a new house, which will become our main residence, and paid stamp duty on this, new house. At the same time, we remortgaged our old house and put the mortgage and deeds in my name also, both houses now are in both of our names. Our solicitors just contacted us , asking that we pay stamp duty on an old house, as this is now became not our main residence. 

 What do you think? Why do we need to pay SD on our old house as well? 

 Shall I contact SD themselves to clarify? Is there even a way to contact them? I strongly believe I should not have to pay this, second charge, as we paid SD when purchasing the second home. 

junglist_matty

Sounds very strange indeed (I was under the impression you only ever pay stamp duty after you purchase a property)...

When do I pay stamp duty?
You have 14 days after you complete on the purchase of a property to file a return to HMRC and pay any stamp duty that is due.
Your solicitor or conveyancer will usually calculate and pay your stamp duty bill on your behalf. They will normally submit your return and pay the stamp duty on completion day, having collected the money from you in advance.

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-stamp-duty/#:~:text=When%20do%20I%20pay%20stamp,duty%20bill%20on%20your%20behalf.

pjcox2005

Stamp Duty Land Tax isn't something I look at but I think you've got two points:

- Transfer of old property to be joint-ownership - gifts between spouses shouldn't be subject to SDLT but I think this may change where consideration is present. In this case, the consideration is you taking on 50% of the debt when you remortgaged and therefore SDLT may be applicable. You'd need to do wider reading or consult a specialist as to whether this can be still fall within spouse exemption.

- Acquisition of new property - if you are intending to retain your old house which it seems like given the remortgage, then you'll incur the additional 3% SDLT on top of normal rates as you are not selling your main residence and therefore don't meet the exemption.

I don't think your position is straightforward so I would consult on the matter.

MWT

lietuve said:

Our solicitors just contacted us , asking that we pay stamp duty on an old house, as this is now became not our main residence. 

Are you sure this isn't just the 3% due on your recent purchase as you have not disposed of the old house at the same time?

user1977

MWT said:

lietuve said:

Our solicitors just contacted us , asking that we pay stamp duty on an old house, as this is now became not our main residence. 

Are you sure this isn't just the 3% due on your recent purchase as you have not disposed of the old house at the same time?

And/or the SDLT due on the transfer of title of the old house.

MWT

user1977 said:

MWT said:

lietuve said:

Our solicitors just contacted us , asking that we pay stamp duty on an old house, as this is now became not our main residence. 

Are you sure this isn't just the 3% due on your recent purchase as you have not disposed of the old house at the same time?

And/or the SDLT due on the transfer of title of the old house.

Re-reading the original post it looks like their solicitors are correct, I didn't notice that it was a remortgage, so there was an existing mortgage on the property.

So yes, since there was a consideration for the transfer, there will be SDLT to pay even though it is a transfer between spouses.