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I've purchased a new flat outright as a cash buyer. The solicitor documentation suggests there is a 'SDLT' (stamp duty) tax of around £8,000. I believe this can be avoided by living in the property and not renting out. However, I want to eventually rent out, so is there a standard time period to wait before doing so?

EDIT: made the question more cohesive

Ellie K
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Jack Scott
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1 Answers1

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SDLT applies to most residential property sales, with some variations and exemptions. There is no exemption to SDLT for living in the property for a certain period of time (you might be confusing this with capital gains tax, where a practice known as flipping was used prior to selling in order to avoid it).

If you already own a home and it wasn't sold before purchasing an additional home, then on top of the normal stamp duty you may be paying a surcharge of 3% of the new property's value.

https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates

webdevduck
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