All the way back in 2015 the government brought in new rules on Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for the purchasing of second homes, essentially investment properties would be charged at a higher rate of SDLT at purchase.

Now, it wasn’t all bad news. Measures were introduced to ensure that if you were selling your main residence and then purchasing new, you wouldn’t get charged at the higher rate. It also provided for a gap in in ownership of a main residence, that is if you were renting for some time or had sold and then lived abroad for an unlimited period of time.

So why on earth are we talking about it now?

Well, on 26th November the rules on this are changing. You will only be able to claim “replacement main residence” SDLT rates when buying your new main residence if your old residence was disposed of in the last three years.

So, if you own buy to let properties, once owned your own main residence and are looking to buy your own home again, you probably should look to buy before the deadline. It could save you quite a tax bill.

Contact your local AIMS Accountant.