Hello! Looking for some advice about stamp duty. I am a British citizen who moved back to the UK a year ago after living in Canada for 8 years. My Canadian partner moved back with me on a family visa.

We kept our house (jointly purchased in 2017) in Canada and are renting it out to tenants. We moved into a flat in the UK that was gifted to only me in 2015.

We are looking to buy a home in the UK and sell the flat. So technically our main residence is here in the UK and we will be selling that to purchase another. However, we will still have an additional property but it would not be our main one, being rented instead. Do we need to pay the higher stamp duty? My partner completed the gov.uk test and believes we wouldn't need to as our main residence is now in the UK but I am skeptical. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you

Assuming the property in Canada is worth more than £40k, then yes, you'll need to pay the higher rate. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-du...ntial-property

HTH.

I agree with your partner.
Your main residence is the flat. So if you sell it and replace it with a new main residence, you’ll not be liable to the extra stamp duty.

If you want to be doubly sure, you could always post the question on the HMRC Community forum.

+1

Owning another property, even one overseas, will, I think, attract the higher rate of stamp duty.

They already own a property in Canada too, that's what will trigger the higher rate.

Owning another property - anywhere in the world - doesn’t necessarily trigger the higher rate.
All that matters is whether you’re replacing one main residence with a different one.
Their main residence is the flat they’ve been living in for the past year.
They are now planning to sell that and buy a new main residence. So - in my view - they will pay the lower-rate stamp duty.

I have 2 rental properties in the UK.
I also own a flat in France which is our main residence.
If I sell this and buy another main residence in the UK, I will not be liable to the higher-rate stamp duty. Because I will be replacing one main residence with another.
The fact that I own other properties is irrelevant.

Any UK accountants out there?

That all sounds very logical to me. I guess if the OP asks the solicitor she will use to sell and buy her flat and house then all will be revealed.

ETA
I have done a bit more digging and am pretty sure that you are correct.

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

Higher rates for additional properties

You’ll usually have to pay 3% on top of SDLT rates if buying a new residential property means you’ll own more than one.

If you’re replacing your main residence

You will not pay the extra 3% SDLT if the property you’re buying is replacing your main residence and that has already been sold.

If you have not sold your main residence on the day you complete your new purchase you’ll have to pay higher rates. This is because you own 2 properties.

You can apply for a refund if you sell your previous main home within 36 months.

Thanks so much for your comments - sorry I did not acknowledge before!
We gave up in 2023 but are trying to buy and sell again now and coming across a lot of contradictory information re stamp duty. One tax specialist has told us the following:

Because I own the flat solely in my name but we would be buying a UK property together, then the extra stamp duty would be charged as though I am replacing my main residence but my partner is actually increasing the amount of properties he owns. He says the solutions would be to get married so it would be seen as us both replacing our main residence or my partner would need to be added to the deeds of the flat prior to selling. He would be added at say 10% for example. And since the value of that 10% is under 40k then there would be no stamp duty to pay at all...

Anyone come across this nuance before?