Second property - stamp duty/tax refund

[CAPTAINBUMFLUFF]

Hi

I recently purchased a new property (Home B ) before selling my existing one (Home A) and paid additional stamp duty (2nd home).

Home A is currently up for sale and I read that if I sell this within 3 years I will be able to claim some stamp duty back.

I intend to start living in Home B now but am worried that this will prevent me from claiming back stamp duty if home A sells soon? Am I okay to make home B my primary residence for council tax purposes and to update details with my bank etc? Do I need to tell HRMC?

Thank you

 

[Peerzy]

Yes, you're perfectly fine to move into and live in property B and it won't impact your ability to claim back the stamp duty providing you sell property A within the allowed time frame.

The whole mechanism is designed to not punish people who are moving from A to B but for whatever reason couldn't sell A at the same time or quickly enough (or wanted / needed to break a chain).

 

[reef]

Yes, we did this. We were moving into a new build and couldn't risk being in a chain as the completion date kept moving.

We moved into our new house in the February and didn't sell our old house until the May. It took about a month after completion for the additional stamp duty refund.