I own a property that I rent out and have done for the last two years. Before that, I lived in it for 15 years. I now live in rented accommodation with my wife. If we decide to move out of our rented accommodation where we live and buy a new property in Liverpool to live in, would we qualify for not paying stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on our new house (the new home would cost around £300,000) following the SDLT holiday announced on 8 July 2020? 

Arthur Weller replies:  

HMRC’s guidance (see here) indicates that you would pay 3% SDLT on the £300,000 purchase price. This is because the new house would be your second property. Even though there is a SDLT holiday for the principal amount of SDLT up to a purchase price of £500,000, this does not apply to the extra 3% surcharge. The fact that you moved out of your old main residence two years ago doesn't help, but if you had sold it, you would not have had to pay the 3%.