Mark McLaughlin looks at the exception from higher rate stamp duty land tax for the replacement of an individual’s only or main home.
Moving house can be stressful, not to mention costly. A major cost of purchase can be stamp duty land tax (SDLT) (or equivalents in Scotland and Wales, not considered here).
Extra SDLT?
Care is needed to distinguish between a replacement dwelling and an additional dwelling; the latter is generally liable to higher SDLT rates (if bought for £40,000 or more and is not subject to a lease with more than 21 years left to run), which are 3% higher than standard SDLT rates.
Is it a replacement?
However, the purchase of a qualifying replacement dwelling is not liable to the additional SDLT (FA 2003, Sch 4ZA, paras 3(6), (7)).
But what is a
