Stamp Duty on Second Property not Renting out.

The revenue website states that there is no stamp duty on properties under 125 sq. m if bought by a first time buyer or owner occupier.

Our situation is our principal private residence is down the country but we want to buy an apartment in Dublin solely for our part time use as we spend a lot of time in the city and I work there.

I am unclear if we qualify as owner occupiers as the revenue state it should be our residence.

However clawback of stamp duty exemption only occurs if we get rental income which we dont intend to do.

Are we exempt or should we pay?

Any help much appreciated.

Depends on if it is a new or second hand property

Its new. The question I have is if I keep my house down the country and continue to live there can I still be an owner occupier in Dublin and live part time there without paing stamp duty? Tks

I think the property would be considered an investment property by Revenue -on the grounds that you can only have one PPR and any other property is deemed to be not your PPR and therefore "investment". Its very much like the idea of having a second home in the country - that would be treated as an investment property by Revenue. Stamp duty would be payable at investor rates.

You could check it out with Revenue but I'm pretty certain this is what they will tell you.

mf

Alternatively, and depending on your overall financial circumstances, there might be an advantage to reassigning the city property as your notional PPR rather than your country property. You'd have to look at the balance of TRS advantage / stamp duty clawback issues that would arise. I suspect this would be a runner only if you spend a good half your time in the second property, and Revenue will want good justification... but it could be possible.

For Stamp Duty relief on houses with a floor area cert, the relief is available (assuming all other conditions are met) where the property is "the only or principal place of residence of the purchaser". If your principal residence is down the country then I don't think that you would be able to claim the stamp duty exemption from such a property. Therefore, per mf1 post, investor rates of stamp duty should be paid.

Incidentally, the PPR relief (for Capital Gains Tax) applies to a house which has been occupied as an "only or main residence". My take on that is that you are entitled to only one main residence (otherwise it wouldn't be your main residence!).

Newby said:

My take on that is that you are entitled to only one main residence (otherwise it wouldn't be your main residence!).

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Well, it's also Revenues take on it so no way around it.

Worth noting that a married couple may only have one PPR (even if they live apart for the majority of the week in seperate properties).

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Check out the details on OO (you don't fit into it*), FTB, PPR etc here and you'll see that SD is probably due (I would just say "is" but I'm no tax expert) at the Full Rate.

* said:

A person purchasing a second house/apartment, including a holiday home, is not regarded as an Owner Occupier even where no rent is obtained from the letting of the property. This is because the property is not occupied as a principal place of residence.​

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Thanks for replies ...I thought as much. Oh dear!......very dear!!