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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet

Second home stamp duty relief

Ocarolina
Posts:1
Joined:Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:10 am
Second home stamp duty relief

Postby Ocarolina » Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:32 am

I own one BTL property and have done for 13 years.
I have lived in rented accommodation in London the entire time I have owned the property.
I would like to relocate to Devon for a year/18 months while I’m still able to work from home - I would be giving up my rented London property.
Property prices vs. rent are comparatively low in the area I am moving to so it makes financial sense for me to purchase a property there rather than rent, even with the associated purchase costs/stamp duty.
I would be looking to move back to London at some point in the next couple of years at which point I would like to purchase a home in London to live in.

My question is, if I was to sell the Devon property at the time of purchasing the London property, would I be exempt from paying the 3% surcharge, as I would be disposing of one main residence to move to another? Devon would genuinely be my main residence, I would be on the electoral roll, all utilities, council tax etc. registered there.

I believe I would exempt be but I am concerned I may be missing something and be hit with a huge, unexpected bill at completion in the future.

Many thanks in advance.

SDLT Geek
Posts:232
Joined:Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:45 pm

Re: Second home stamp duty relief

Postby SDLT Geek » Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:29 pm

A problem you will have is defending the position that the Devon property will be your “residence” when you are planning your exit before you move in and on the face of it your occupation is calculated to obtain a fiscal advantage.


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