Property with carrier stream is mixed use

The taxpayer bought a property which comprised a house large garden and land which was bounded by a river on the western side and by a carrier stream on the eastern side. It also included a fisherman’s cabin. He was a keen fly-fisher and intended to set up a fly-fishing business on the property.

The taxpayer submitted a stamp duty land tax return on the basis the property was residential but later amended it to claim the reduced rate applicable to non-residential property.

HMRC refused his claim and the taxpayer appealed.

It was agreed that part of the property from the road up to the carrier stream and including the house was residential property. The dispute concerned the nature of the property from the carrier stream to the western boundary.

The judge in the First-tier Tribunal considered it to be ‘significant’ that the land to the...