Please could anyone help me as I hate paying over tax to this horrible government in error and I am sure I have made a mistake here through a lack of knowledge about stamp duty.
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In August 2017 I bought a large property as my main residence (property A) during that time I ran into financial difficulty and was forced to sell and had to accept a low offer on this my main residence property, the purchaser also part exchanged his lower priced terraced property as part of the deal.
The property that I had to accept as the part exchange (property B) was in a rough area that I did not want to live in and also not in the catchment for the correct schools. Money was really tight and the property would have been difficult to sell so I decided to rent it out.
What this meant was that I had sold my larger main residence and split the proceeds into a lower priced property that I rented out and also had some cash in the bank.
I then decided to rent a house for myself for around 12 months to get a grip on my finances and look for a cheaper property to buy in the area I wanted to live. eventually I bought a much smaller cheaper property (property C) in the area I liked with good schools in the same town I was renting.
Over the next few years I worked hard and improved this property so its value has increased and I am now in the process of part exchanging this property which is my main residence to a larger property in the same town (property D) During all this time I still have the rental (property B)
that was part exchanged against my original main residence.
Sorry about this but now I finally get to ask my question and problem regards stamp duty which I am sure I have not done correctly but I need some advise as I cannot work it out.
On buying property C my main residence I was charged the higher rate stamp duty as I owned 2 properties - this property as my main residence and the forced rental.
Now I am selling Property C and buying property D which will also be my main residence but I am being asked to pay the higher rate stamp duty again as a 2 property owner.
So in the space of around 3/4 years I have paid the higher rate of stamp duty of 2 houses that have been my main residences because it is seen that I have 2 properties because of the forced rental property.
Can anyone clear this up for me as from what I am reading I feel I have done something wrong here and should not have paid the higher rate as these are my main residences even though I have a second rental property?
Many thanks Emma