Updated: Guidance and link added to page explaining there is a 3% surcharge on residential properties bought by companies for under £500,000.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged at 15% on residential properties costing more than £500,000 bought by certain corporate bodies – or ‘non-natural persons’. These include:
- companies
- partnerships including companies
- collective investment schemes
These bodies may also need to pay Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings.
The 15% rate doesn’t apply to property bought by a company that is acting as a trustee of a settlement or bought by a company to be used for:
- a property rental business
- property developers and trader
- property made available to the public
- financial institutions acquiring property in the course of lending
- property occupied by employees
- farmhouses
The standard residential rate of SDLT applies in these cases. These exclusions are subject to specific conditions.
There is a 3% surcharge on residential properties bought by companies for under £500,000. Please read Stamp Duty Land Tax: buying an additional residential property for further information.
Source: HMRC