Litigation must be efficient and cost-effective

In February 2020 the taxpayer and his wife bought a property – a detached house and annex - and paid stamp duty land tax on the basis that it was residential dwelling. The wife’s parents moved into the annex about a year later. The annex did not have a separate house number but did have its own front door and kitchen.

In June 2020 the Valuation Office Agency said that it had made a new entry for the annex on the council tax list. This was because in its view the property comprised two dwellings for council tax purposes.

A firm of property tax accountants subsequently told the taxpayer that as the property had an annex he was entitled to claim multiple dwellings relief. In February 2021 it submitted an amended SDLT return to claim a refund.

After checking the amended return and making enquiries about...