UK households forced to pay HMRC thousands after trying to use ‘loophole’

UK households are being f orced to repay thousands after using a stamp duty ‘loophole’. Profits from flipping properties have dropped since Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves failed to extend the stamp duty discount.

But now fixer-uppers trying to exploit a stamp duty loophole by buying “uninhabitable” properties face the threat of hefty penalties. In Amarjeet and Tajinder Mudan v HMRC the Court of Appeal agreed with an earlier Upper Tribunal decision that, despite a property being dilapidated and vandalised at the time of purchase, it remained 'residential' for Stamp Duty Land Tax.

Anthony Burke, HMRC’s deputy director of compliance assets, said a recent ruling was a “major win”. He said: “Homebuyers should be cautious of allowing someone to make a stamp duty repayment claim on t