Currently where you purchase a new home prior to selling your existing home, you are required to pay the higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax on the new purchase. However on sale of the old property, you are, subject to the following rules, eligible to claim a refund for the higher amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax paid.
The rule for obtaining a refund of the higher amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax paid:
You can obtain a refund if you sell or give away your previous home within three years of buying your new home, unless you or your spouse still own part of the previous home.
However there are exceptional circumstances where a delay beyond the three years can mean that a refund is still available. The existing exceptional circumstance is where a public authority prevents the sale but it has just been announced that, where the purchase of your new home was on or after 1 January 2017, and you have been unable to sell your previous home, you can claim the refund after this three year window if it was impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Detail on how this can be proved is yet to be made available but you will presumably have needed to be in a situation where offers had been accepted on the property and solicitors were working towards exchange of contract or indeed completion at the three year date.
If you believe that you have been affected in the sale of your old home and it could restrict your ability to make a Stamp Duty Land Tax refund claim, please do contact Lucy Orrow at Lambert Chapman LLP.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the Author and other professionals may express different views. They may not be the views of Lambert Chapman LLP. The material in the article cannot and should not be considered as exhaustive. Professional advice should be sought in connection with any of the issues contained in the article and the implementation of any actions.