My father had bought a few plots/land for investment over ten years ago in India. He actually bought three plots, which are all in my name and so they belong to me. He bought those plots for me as an investment, so he can hand them to me when I am older. Now I am planning to sell the plots so I could possibly use that money for a deposit to buy a second property in the UK (i.e. Wolverhampton). I am really unsure about the tax implications? I understand that the land/plot does not come under a second property/home.

Arthur Weller replies:
From your question it is not clear: (a) what the focus of your question is; and (b) whether you already own a house besides these three plots of land. If you do already own a house, and you are asking whether the sale of these three plots of land will make a difference to your paying the extra 3% stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a second house, then the answer is that it won’t make a difference; you will still have to pay the extra 3% SDLT. If you currently do not own any property besides these three plots of land, and you sell them and then buy a house, you will not pay the extra 3% SDLT because, at the time of purchase, this is the only house you own.