Stamp Duty - Buying before selling

mcarp91

Hi,

My wife and I are currently bidding on a new house which will be our only and main residence.

However to give us an edge in the bidding war we are proposing to complete purchase of this new house before we sell our current house.

Once the purchase is complete it is my understanding that we would pay the additional 5% rate of SDLT because the new house would be deemed as a second property.

My reading of the HMRC rules around SDLT is that as long as we sell our old house within 3 years and that the new house will be our only and main residence then we will be entitled to a refund of the additonal 5% SDLT?

Can anyone confirm the above as the additional 5% SDLT amount to approximately an extra £30,000 in stamp duty to pay and if we weren't able to recoup this then we will not be proceeding with the purchase of the new house.

Thanks

MyRealNameToo

Basically, though you also have to reclaim the extra SDLT within 12 months of the completion of the sale of the original home.

SDLT_Geek

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6654743/stamp-duty-buying-before-selling

Yes, that is right.

@MyRealNameToo is correct about the time limit for applying for the refund, though in practice I would expect this to be done as soon as the sale of the current house completes.