My wife is buying her own property. Is she liable for stamp duty?

She has never owned a property before, but I did once before we were married

Q My wife is buying a property with her own money and has never owned property before. However, I bought and sold a property 20 years ago which she never lived in. I have two quotes from conveyancing firms. One gives my wife the benefit of no stamp duty for first-time buyers but the other doesn’t. This is because they interpret the rules differently. As far as I can tell she should not be penalised due to the fact that she is married. Who is right?
RE

A You are classed as a first-time buyer for the purposes of relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) – in England and Northern Ireland - if you are an individual who has never owned a residential property in the UK or anywhere else in the world. In addition, to qualify for the relief, you must be intending to live in the property as your main residence and it must not cost more than £500,000 (with the relief being limited to the first £300,000).

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NDxMNz
via IFTTT