Stamp duty on first UK house but already owner abroad

pasquinelli

Hello everyone,

I tried to search across the forum but I couldnt' sort it out on my own, hopefully someone will be so gentle to help me into this.
I'm a man resident in London area since 2016, now I decided to move from being a tenant to buy my first house, i'm trying to understand better how much stamp duty I'd need to pay before starting my offer.
i'm an expat who already know couple of properties abroad and I don't understand how my first house in the UK will be categorized.

Here's few useful details about my status :
- 2003 I bought a flag in Italy where I lived
- 2016 I relocated to the UK
- 2021 I bought a studio in Italy (which is currently let to a long term tenant),
- At the end of 2023 I acquired British citizenship

I'm a full tax payer in the UK since 2016 and I totally understand I can't claim to be a first time buyer (which is absolutely fine), the think that it's not fully clear is the appeal "second home" that I noticed when looking into the stamp duty website.

I was using a stamp duty calculator on another website and it was asking me "Is this an additional property, such as a rental property or second home?"

Now considering that I'll buy this first UK house to live there, it will be my main residence (the first house I bought in Italy is at my disposition when I need to travel there, and the second house in Italy is let).
Does it still to be considered "second home" (so I also need to pay the extra tax) cause I already own those 2 properties or I don't have to consider it as "second home" (and don't have to pay the extra tax)?

Thanks to anyone will be able to help me

user1977

The extra duty is due if you are increasing the number of residential properties you own, it doesn't matter how you're using them.

The sites which call them "second homes" or "rental properties" are just using unhelpful shorthand on the assumption people already own the property they live in and are buying an additional one for rental or as a second home. All that really matters is the order you buy them in.

If you use the calculator on the HMRC website it should guide you through things a bit more accurately:

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#!/intro

pasquinelli

user1977 said:

The extra duty is due if you are increasing the number of residential properties you own, it doesn't matter how you're using them.

The sites which call them "second homes" or "rental properties" are just using unhelpful shorthand on the assumption people already own the property they live in and are buying an additional one for rental or as a second home. All that really matters is the order you buy them in.

If you use the calculator on the HMRC website it should guide you through things a bit more accurately:

I just tried, really helpful to address me at HMRC website.

Thank you

SDLT_Geek

pasquinelli said:

Hello everyone,

I tried to search across the forum but I couldnt' sort it out on my own, hopefully someone will be so gentle to help me into this.
I'm a man resident in London area since 2016, now I decided to move from being a tenant to buy my first house, i'm trying to understand better how much stamp duty I'd need to pay before starting my offer.
i'm an expat who already know couple of properties abroad and I don't understand how my first house in the UK will be categorized.

Here's few useful details about my status :
- 2003 I bought a flag in Italy where I lived
- 2016 I relocated to the UK
- 2021 I bought a studio in Italy (which is currently let to a long term tenant),
- At the end of 2023 I acquired British citizenship

I'm a full tax payer in the UK since 2016 and I totally understand I can't claim to be a first time buyer (which is absolutely fine), the think that it's not fully clear is the appeal "second home" that I noticed when looking into the stamp duty website.

I was using a stamp duty calculator on another website and it was asking me "Is this an additional property, such as a rental property or second home?"

Now considering that I'll buy this first UK house to live there, it will be my main residence (the first house I bought in Italy is at my disposition when I need to travel there, and the second house in Italy is let).
Does it still to be considered "second home" (so I also need to pay the extra tax) cause I already own those 2 properties or I don't have to consider it as "second home" (and don't have to pay the extra tax)?

Thanks to anyone will be able to help me

Yes, as @user1977 says, you will have to pay the extra 3% stamp duty land tax for an additional property.

In the HMRC website (the one for which you have been sent a link), you cannot say that you are "replacing" your only or main residence.  That is because you are keeping the property you own and lived in.