Stamp Duty Land Tax Relief for Employer-Purchased Homes in Job Relocations

SDLT relief when an employer buys an employee’s former home after relocation

An employer may be exempt from Stamp Duty Land Tax when buying an employee’s old home to help with a genuine work-related move. The relief only applies if strict conditions are met, including that the home was recently the employee’s main residence, the move was needed because of a job relocation, the employer pays no more than market value, and the land bought is within the permitted area. If too much land is included, partial relief may still be available.

• The purchase must be made by the employer from an individual because the employee had to move home due to a change in job, duties, or workplace.
• The property must have been the employee’s main or only residence at some point in the two years before the employer buys it.
• The employee’s move must be mainly so they can live within a reasonable daily travelling distance of the new normal place of work.
• The employer must not pay more than the property’s market value, or the relief may not apply.
• If the land acquired is larger than the permitted area, SDLT may still only be charged on the value of the extra land rather than on the full price.
• In practice, evidence on the reason for the move, commuting distance, valuation, and the extent of the land is important because these points can be disputed.

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SDLT relief where an employer buys an employee’s old home after a job relocation

This page explains a specific Stamp Duty Land Tax relief for employer purchases of an employee’s former home when the employee has to move because of work. If the conditions are met, the employer’s purchase can be exempt from SDLT. If too much land is included, the relief may still apply in part rather than being lost altogether.

What this rule is about

This relief deals with a common relocation situation. An employee has to move home because their job location changes, and the employer buys the employee’s old dwelling. The legislation can exempt that purchase from SDLT, but only if a set of conditions is satisfied.

The rule is aimed at genuine employment-related relocations. It is not a general exemption for any employer purchase of an employee’s property. The reason for the move, the status of the dwelling, the price paid, and the amount of land acquired all matter.

What the official source says

HMRC’s manual says that an employer’s purchase of a dwelling from an individual can be exempt from SDLT if all of the following conditions are met:

• the dwelling was occupied by the individual as their main or only residence at some point in the two years before the purchase date
• the purchase is made because the employee had to change residence due to a job relocation
• the purchase price does not exceed the dwelling’s market value
• the land acquired does not exceed the permitted area

The manual also says that if the land acquired is more than the permitted area, partial relief may still be available if the other conditions are met. In that case, part of the consideration remains chargeable to SDLT.

For partial relief, the chargeable consideration is the difference between:

• the total market value of the whole property acquired, including all the land, and
• the market value of the dwelling together with the permitted area of land

The manual defines relocation of employment as a change in the employee’s place of employment because the individual:

• becomes an employee of the employer
• changes duties with the employer, or
• changes the place where they work for the employer

A change of residence counts as arising from that relocation if it is made wholly or mainly so that the individual can live within a reasonable daily travelling distance of the new place of work.

The “new place of work” is the place where the employee normally performs their duties after the relocation.

What this means in practice

The key practical point is that this relief focuses on why the employer is buying the property. The purchase must be connected to a real work-driven move. It is not enough that the employee moved and the employer later bought the old home. The purchase must be made because the employee had to change residence due to the relocation.

The old home must also have been the employee’s main or only residence at some time in the two years before the employer bought it. That condition stops the relief applying to properties that have no real connection to the employee’s home life, such as investment property or a long-vacant former residence.

The market value condition is also important. If the employer pays more than market value, the exemption is not available on the basis stated in the manual. This reflects the policy that the relief is for a genuine relocation purchase, not for transferring extra value to the employee through an inflated price.

The land area condition can be especially significant in rural or high-value properties. If the employer acquires more than the permitted area, the transaction is not necessarily fully outside the relief. Instead, the relief may be restricted so that SDLT is charged only on the excess value attributable to the extra land.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to approach this relief is to ask the following questions in order:

• Who is buying the property? The purchaser must be the employer.
• Who is selling it? The manual refers to a purchase from an individual, whether alone or with other individuals.
• Was the property the employee’s main or only residence at some point in the two years before purchase?
• Was there a relocation of employment? That requires a change in place of employment because the employee started employment, changed duties, or changed workplace.
• Did the employee change residence wholly or mainly so they could live within a reasonable daily travelling distance of the new place of work?
• Is the employer paying no more than market value?
• Does the acquisition include no more than the permitted area of land? If it includes more, can partial relief be calculated instead?

In practice, this means gathering evidence on both the employment move and the property. Relevant material may include the employee’s old and new work locations, the reason for the move, travel distance and commuting practicality, valuation evidence, and plans showing the extent of the land acquired.

The reference in the manual to definitions elsewhere matters. Concepts such as “main or only residence” and “permitted area” have specific meanings in the SDLT rules and should be checked carefully.

Example

Illustration: An employee lives in a house that was their main residence. They are required to move to a different office after a change in duties, and the old home is no longer within a reasonable daily travelling distance of the new workplace. The employer buys the old home from the employee at market value to assist the relocation.

If the property includes only the permitted area of land, the purchase may be exempt from SDLT if the other conditions are met.

If the property includes more land than the permitted area, the relief may still apply in part. In that case, SDLT is charged only on the part of the value attributable to the excess land, rather than on the full purchase price.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Several parts of this relief are fact-sensitive.

First, the reason for the move can be disputed. The test is not simply whether the employee changed jobs or work location. The change of residence must be made wholly or mainly so the employee can live within a reasonable daily travelling distance of the new workplace. That often requires a practical judgement about commuting distance, travel time, and the employee’s actual working pattern.

Second, “market value” can be contentious, especially where the employer is buying quickly as part of a relocation package. A valuation that is too high may put the relief at risk.

Third, land area issues can be awkward. Where a dwelling sits on a larger plot, valuation and apportionment may be needed to identify the market value of the permitted area and the excess. That calculation directly affects how much consideration remains chargeable if only partial relief is available.

Finally, the manual summarises the rule, but the detailed statutory definitions still matter. Terms such as “main or only residence” and “permitted area” should not be treated as casual expressions.

Key takeaways

• An employer’s purchase of an employee’s old home can be exempt from SDLT if it is genuinely linked to a work-related relocation and the statutory conditions are met.
• The dwelling must have been the employee’s main or only residence within the previous two years, and the employer must not pay more than market value.
• If too much land is included, full relief may fail, but partial relief may still reduce the SDLT charge to the value attributable to the excess land.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Stamp Duty Land Tax Relief for Employer-Purchased Homes in Job Relocations

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