Oh Yes – Multiple Reliefs

We all like a good tax relief, but what if you can have multiple reliefs? Surely that would result in a scream of delight! And yet it seems that, often, Multiple Dwellings Relief is being missed and, as a result, too much SDLT is being paid.

The relief was introduced for transactions effected after 19 July 2011 and applies where there is an acquisition of an interest in at least two "dwellings". Prior to its introduction, an acquirer would have to pay SDLT on the aggregate consideration, because the various purchases would have been "linked". Now, you look at the average price attached to each dwelling and apply the rate to the whole consideration.

As an example, four dwellings are acquired for a total consideration of £1m.