Lee Sharpe looks at HMRC’s approach to the 3% ‘extra home’ SDLT charge in England and Northern Ireland and how it has changed over the course of the pandemic.
For those readers subject to stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland, most will probably be familiar with the regime that introduced the higher rates for additional dwellings (HRAD), typically referred to as ‘the 3% surcharge’. Finance Act 2016 updated FA 2003 with a new Schedule 4ZA.
First-time buyers aside, the main route to avoiding the 3% surcharge is by showing that you have simply replaced your main home. But if you are struggling to sell your former main home, then rather than getting too bogged down in considering arguable evidence of how hard you are trying to sell the old property, HMRC basically puts the burden on the taxpayer by adopting a ‘pay now, worry about reclaiming later’ approach.
