Fields formed part of the garden and grounds

The taxpayer bought a freehold estate of a 106-acre property which included a 40-acre area to the rear of the house referred to as the ‘fields’. He filed his stamp duty land tax return on the basis that the property was mixed use.

After a review HMRC amended the return stating that the property was entirely residential.

The taxpayer appealed. He said the fields were not ‘grounds’ of the house because at the time of the transaction when he bought the property they served – and continue to serve – a ‘distinct purpose unconnected with the house’.

The First-tier Tribunal said the question was whether the fields formed part of the garden or grounds of the house within the meaning of FA 2003 s 116(1)(b). It noted that the fields were used for growing and cutting grass – no animals grazed on them and that...