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Loss of Stamp Duty discount for married couples


My wife co-owns a home with her Mum from before we were married- I have never lived in or contributed financially to this property.
I am looking to buy my first home on my own (my wife will not be on the mortgage or the deeds) and therefore expected to qualify for stamp duty relief as a first time buyer.
However I found this on HMRC:
'If you’re married or in a civil partnership
The rules apply to you both as if you were buying the property together, even if you’re not.
If either of you individually have to pay the higher rates, you must pay the higher rates for the transaction as a whole (unless you’re permanently separated).'
Is this really the case? As this puts my stamp duty bill from £875 to £22,900 just because my wife owns a property already, even though she's not involved in the purchase of my new property?
Comments
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Unfortunately so, for SDLT purposes a married couple is basically treated as one entity.2
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Khamp said:Can someone please help me decipher the stamp duty rules for married couples? It seems this is very unknown as I'm in quite a unique situation that my solicitors haven't dealt with before.7
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Afraid if you want 1st time buyer status. Then you are going to have to purchase it yourself.
Agree with the above. This is quite common.Life in the slow lane1 -
born_again said:Afraid if you want 1st time buyer status. Then you are going to have to purchase it yourself.4
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Khamp said:Can someone please help me decipher the stamp duty rules for married couples? It seems this is very unknown as I'm in quite a unique situation that my solicitors haven't dealt with before.
My wife co-owns a home with her Mum from before we were married- I have never lived in or contributed financially to this property.
I am looking to buy my first home on my own (my wife will not be on the mortgage or the deeds) and therefore expected to qualify for stamp duty relief as a first time buyer.
However I found this on HMRC:'If you’re married or in a civil partnership
The rules apply to you both as if you were buying the property together, even if you’re not.
If either of you individually have to pay the higher rates, you must pay the higher rates for the transaction as a whole (unless you’re permanently separated).'
Is this really the case? As this puts my stamp duty bill from £875 to £22,900 just because my wife owns a property already, even though she's not involved in the purchase of my new property?
For the purpose of the 3% surcharge your purchase would be judged as if your spouse is also buying the property (even though she is not). That means there are questions to ask, such as:
(a) Is her share in the house she co-owns with her mother worth £40,000 or more?
(b) Is there another property which your spouse has lived in within the last three years which has been sold (or otherwise disposed of)?
It sounds likely that the 3% extra will apply.
Surprisingly the first time buyer relief rules do not have provisions throwing spouses together, but there are provisions, which are likely to be relevant here, saying that if the 3% extra applies, first time buyers' relief does not apply.1 -
born_again said:Afraid if you want 1st time buyer status. Then you are going to have to purchase it yourself.
Agree with the above. This is quite common.1 -
born_again said:Afraid if you want 1st time buyer status. Then you are going to have to purchase it yourself get divorced first.6
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p00hsticks said:Khamp said:Can someone please help me decipher the stamp duty rules for married couples? It seems this is very unknown as I'm in quite a unique situation that my solicitors haven't dealt with before.0
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Elliott.T123 said:Unfortunately so, for SDLT purposes a married couple is basically treated as one entity.0
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SDLT_Geek said:Khamp said:Can someone please help me decipher the stamp duty rules for married couples? It seems this is very unknown as I'm in quite a unique situation that my solicitors haven't dealt with before.
My wife co-owns a home with her Mum from before we were married- I have never lived in or contributed financially to this property.
I am looking to buy my first home on my own (my wife will not be on the mortgage or the deeds) and therefore expected to qualify for stamp duty relief as a first time buyer.
However I found this on HMRC:'If you’re married or in a civil partnership
The rules apply to you both as if you were buying the property together, even if you’re not.
If either of you individually have to pay the higher rates, you must pay the higher rates for the transaction as a whole (unless you’re permanently separated).'
Is this really the case? As this puts my stamp duty bill from £875 to £22,900 just because my wife owns a property already, even though she's not involved in the purchase of my new property?
For the purpose of the 3% surcharge your purchase would be judged as if your spouse is also buying the property (even though she is not). That means there are questions to ask, such as:
(a) Is her share in the house she co-owns with her mother worth £40,000 or more?
(b) Is there another property which your spouse has lived in within the last three years which has been sold (or otherwise disposed of)?
It sounds likely that the 3% extra will apply.
Surprisingly the first time buyer relief rules do not have provisions throwing spouses together, but there are provisions, which are likely to be relevant here, saying that if the 3% extra applies, first time buyers' relief does not apply.1
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