An individual who has been long-term resident in the USA, in occupation of a home there which she owns, is coming to reside in the UK and will purchase a home in England in which to live. If she does not sell the USA property (within three years), will she still be subject to the 3% additional stamp duty land tax (SDLT) charge on the UK purchase?

Arthur Weller replies:
If you look at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508272/GuidanceNote_Final.pdf at paragraph 3.15 on page 9, you can see that an interest in an overseas property counts for these rules. So yes, she will need to pay the extra 3% SDLT