Effect of second contract on SDLT transitional rules

In June 2014 M entered into an agreement to buy two properties from H. The contract was informal and contained only the key provisions including the agreed sale price and that the agreement would be binding. It did not state a completion date. On 4 June 2015 another agreement confirmed that a deposit had been paid and that completion was to take place on 15 July 2015. On 17 July 2015 the properties were conveyed to the taxpayer Ladywalk LLP which had been formed the previous December.

The taxpayer said the relevant date for the acquisition of the properties was July 2014. Therefore stamp duty land tax should be charged under the old slab system under the transitional provisions in SDLTA 2015 s 2. HMRC argued that the new slice system applied to the purchase on the basis it had been effected pursuant to the...