I was previously living with my parents and bought a residential property. Shortly after buying this, my parents fell ill, so I moved back home and put the property on rent and changed to a buy-to-let mortgage. I have since moved out of my parents’ home and am now renting. I am looking to buy a main residential property in Warrington, on which I believe I will have to pay higher-rate stamp duty land tax (SDLT) as I own the buy-to-let property. If I purchase the new property and sell my buy-to-let, can I get a refund of SDLT? 

Arthur Weller replies  

Firstly, to qualify for an 'old main residence', you must have lived in the property as your main residence within the three-year period leading up to the purchase of the new main residence (see HMRC’s Stamp Duty Land Tax Manual at SDLTM09800, second point 4). Secondly, you must sell the old main residence within the three-year period following the purchase of the new main residence (see SDLTM09800, second point 2). But the most difficult hurdle to overcome in your scenario is whether this property qualifies as your old main residence at all, in light of the fact you moved out and went back home shortly after you bought it and moved in (see SDLTM09812). Possibly, you could succeed in this because you moved in with the intention to stay long term, and it was only because your parents became ill that you moved out.