Stamp duty divorce new house second property already owned

funbluesky

I have a property obtained 20 years ago that is in my name but I have never received any income from it or paid expenses for it, and another family member lives there.  It's not my marital home.  I haven’t lived there for 15 years.  I am currently getting divorced and may have to sell our actual marital home and purchase a smaller home to live in as my new main residence.  Can anyone please advise the situation with regards to stamp duty rate that I will have to pay on my new home when I purchase it?  It will be my only place of residence but the old house will continue to be in my name.  Many thanks.

Bookworm225

to be clear
Property A - owned 20 years. To be retained
Property B - current (marital) home. To be sold due to divorcing
Property C - new (divorcee) main home 

subject to the timings of purchase and sale (*), you will pay standard rate SDLT on C because you will be replacing your main home B with another main C, not increasing the total number of properties you own which remains at 2 

(*) if B sells after C is purchased then you will pay higher rate on C, but can reclaim that extra cost when B sells (subject to the 3 year time limit) 

if your divorce prevents you from selling B and leaves you with an interest in it (ie still with you named on it), then the situation is explained here:

SDLTM09797 - SDLT - higher rates for additional dwellings: Condition C - divorce and civil partnership dissolution - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK

funbluesky

Thanks @Bookworm225 for this.  So it isn't as bad as I thought.  When we both bought our marital home, we only paid standard rate stamp duty on  it, despite there still being another house in my name from years ago.  Is this because it was going to be both mine and ex spouses main residence, so the higher stamp duty rates on second properties didn't apply?  Otherwise, do we owe stamp duty from buying our marital home...?

GrumpyDil

Depends upon when you purchased the house as well as your circumstances at the time. The additional stamp duty rule was only introduced in April 2016 so if you purchased before that date wouldn't have been relevant.

Bookworm225

given you have not lived in A for 15 years one assumes that was when you purchased B (2010?) so likely 5+ years before higher rate SDLT came in as mentioned above in April 2016