Second Home Additional Tax when buying with partner

[WarnerRow11]

Has anyone had this experience...

I have a buy to let I paid additional home stamp duty when I bought my second home which is now my main residence.
My partner has lived with me here in my residence for over two years and we now want to buy together. So I will sell my main residence that we live in and he will keep his house that he has been renting out since he moved in with me. We've been told two scenarios :
1-As I'm selling the main residence and as my partner has lived here over twelve months that when we buy the new residence together and sell my current one then additional stamp duty will NOT apply.
2-As we are buying together joint mortgage joint ownership and partner is keeping his property then additional stamp duty WILL apply.

We've been told these two different outcomes but mortgage brokers and solicitors and obviously conflict massively and would determine whether we do this or not so has anyone had any experience with this and can give any advice ?

Thanks

Its number 2 I’m afraid. He owns another property so you will have to pay it.

Not sure if this is helpful but it might work out better for you to put the buy to let in a ltd company. You can get a rebate on the higher rate of stamp duty if done within a certain period. You set it up so the equity is a director loan so any profit just repayment. Obviously you’d have to pay stamp duty and any cgt.

It really depends if new home is in a substantially different price bracket to the buy to let for it to be worthwhile.