My husband and I own a buy-to-let property in Barnsley. We lived with my mother and cared for her for six years.  She has now passed away and we want to buy a main residence for us to live in.  Do we have to pay the extra 3% stamp duty land tax as a second home? If so, can we then claim it back as it will be our principal residence, or do we have to sell the buy-to-let flat within three years to be able to do this? 

Arthur Weller replies:  

HMRC’s Stamp Duty Land Tax Manual (at SDLTM09795) states that when a person inherits a residential property in the three years before purchasing a property, the inherited property can be ignored for the purposes of determining whether the transaction is a higher rate transaction. See HMRC’s guidance for the conditions to decide whether the relief applies to your scenario.