Kevin Read compares two stamp duty land tax cases with similar facts but different outcomes in relation to residential property.
Readers will be aware that stamp taxes, whether stamp duty land tax (SDLT) or its devolved equivalents, are usually higher for residential property than non-residential or mixed-use property (although the current nil rate thresholds for SDLT, particularly for first-time buyers, mean that this is not always the case). ‘Second home supplement’ may also apply to residential property.
To be residential, the property must be a ‘dwelling’. Let’s compare two recent cases.
Mudan v HMRC ([2023] UKFTT 317 (TC))
In August 2019, the appellants bought a property in London for £1.755 million and submitted their SDLT return, paying SDLT (at residential rates) of £177,000. In July 2020, they
