The higher rate of stamp duty was designed to be applicable to additional residential property purchases, such as buy-to-lets and second homes. However, the surcharge’s design is far more complex than expected. One area that causes issues are the 3-year conditions that are associated with transactions involving the buyer’s replacement of their main residence and that are exempt from the surcharge liability.
This exception saves purchasers from payment of this surcharge in several situations where the buyer has another property. These technical rules seem to often have arbitrary results that are difficult to find justification for in terms of policy. Even HMRC struggles with their appropriate application in some instances, so it is not too surprising that so many people find them complicated to grasp.
Here, we take a closer look at the basics of stamp duty, the 3-year conditions and whether or not the surcharge may be reclaimed at a later date.
When purchasing a residential property, SDLT (Stamp Duty Land Tax) is usually paid on an increasing portion of the price of the property if it is worth more than £250,000. How much stamp duty is paid depends on three key factors:
If you only own a single residential property, stamp duty is paid at the following rates:
For anyone purchasing their first property, a relief can be claimed which allows no SDLT to be paid on properties up to the value of £425,000, with 5% SDLT owed on the portion between £425,001 and £625,000. For properties over £625,000 no relief can be claimed.
If purchasing a residential property will leave you with more than a single residential home you will typically need to pay a surcharge of 3% in excess of the SDLT rate although no surcharge is applicable if you are purchasing a property to replace your primary residence which has been sold already. If the primary residence is not sold on the date of completion of the new property purchase, the higher rate must be paid, and this is where the 3 year rule comes into play.
In this case, somebody sells their former property after they purchase their new home with the intention of that new property being their main or only residence (although the purchaser may also own other homes).
Even if the purchaser owns multiple properties, when the day the transaction of purchasing the new property is made comes to an end, the purchaser owns at least two dwellings and, therefore, the surcharge of 3% will be due on that new property purchase. But can that surcharge be reclaimed when the old property is sold at a later date?
To be able to reclaim this surcharge, the following conditions must be met:
The purchaser’s old property may be located anywhere worldwide subject to it having been owned freehold or on lease for more than 7 years (or the local jurisdiction equivalent).
This situation can cause a lot of confusion but two 3-year tests exist to determine whether the surcharge can be recovered:
The above exception applies only to purchases made by individuals and not to those made by housing associations, companies, or anybody purchasing a property in conjunction with a university, church, or other institution.
If you are eligible for a refund of your 3% surcharge, you must send a letter to HMRC explaining why your previous property’s sale took over 3 years to complete. The letter must include:
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