Stamp Duty Question

[brian_H]

I have recently posted a few questions and got a great response from PH so I thought I would ask another.

We are in the process of buying a house but have not yet sold our current home. We can fund the new house (just) without selling our current one so we are pressing ahead and have got a decent deal as a cash buyer.

I now realise this will, for a short period of time, mean we have 2 properties so we have to pay 18K stamp duty rather than the 6 I budgeted for. We are putting our home on the market soon but there is no chance it will sell before we close on the new one.

My question is, once our existing property sells, hopefully within the next few months, can I claim the second home part of the stamp duty back?

I know there is a claim back clause if you are getting building work done but the new house needs nothing so I can't use that. Is there another way or am I just going to have to take it on the chin?

Thanks everyone.

Brian

[2Btoo]

If both properties are your primary residence then yes, you can get readily claim the extra SD paid on second one as long as you sell the first within 2 years of providing the second one. Refunds are paid pretty promptly by HMRC.

[brian_H]

Thanks very much for that.....you have just de stressed me enormously!

[2Btoo]

brian_H said:

Thanks very much for that.....you have just de stressed me enormously!

The process was much easier than I was expecting when we did it four years ago.

[gotoPzero]

Think your time line is 1 year, so you need to have your old house sold from the date the stamp duty becomes due on your new house + 1 year.

[YouWhat]

gotoPzero said:

Think your time line is 1 year, so you need to have your old house sold from the date the stamp duty becomes due on your new house + 1 year.

Don’t listen to people on PH look up the details on the government site. It’s 3 years to claim back the money.

“You will not pay the extra 3% SDLT if the property you’re buying is replacing your main residence and that has already been sold.

If you have not sold your main residence on the day you complete your new purchase you’ll have to pay higher rates. This is because you own 2 properties.

You can apply for a refund if you sell your previous main home within 36 months.

If it takes longer than 36 months to sell your previous main home
You may still be able to get a refund of the extra 3% SDLT if all of the following apply:

you purchased your new home on or after 1 January 2017
exceptional circumstances stopped you from selling your old home, for example government restrictions because of coronavirus (COVID-19) or a public authority blocking the sale
you have now sold your old home
To claim a refund, write to HMRC and explain why the sale took longer than 36 months.”

[brian_H]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the response. Even my wife is starting to like PH and she has never even seen it......just likes the fact I can get quick, knowledgeable answers.

[gotoPzero]

I thought you only have 1 year from the date of the completion / tax due on house 2 though?
So 3 years total, but 1 year from buying second property?
IANAL!

[Actual]

We purchased our new property before we sold and at the time paid the 3% SDLT.

When we sold the first property I applied for the refund online using Apply for a repayment of 3% Stamp Duty Land Tax.

I had to get a UTRN code from our solicitor it is in the format 12345678XY.

From the form...

What was the effective date you bought the
property that you paid the higher rate on?

What is the Unique Transaction Reference
Number (UTRN) of the property that you paid
the higher rate on?

What was the effective date that you sold
your previous main residence?

Etc

The refund just appeared in our current account as specified on the application within a couple of days.

[skeeterm5]

We did the same and when we sold our original home all we had to do was provide proof of that sale to our solicitor and they did the rest.

The refund was back with us within a week.

Of all of my dealings with HMRC over the years this is the best and most effective process they have,.

[Cats_pyjamas]

We did the same a couple years ago, make sure you have the unique transaction number from the Solicitor on completion. My crappy solicitor did not supply me with this, although HMRC were very helpful. The submission was easy and it didn't take long at all to receive the funds, under a week iirc. As above really, surprisingly pleasant process with HMRC. Good luck with the purchase/sale.

Edited by Cats_pyjamas on Tuesday 30th July 07:06