Spouses and civil partners purchasing alone
25(1)Sub-paragraph (2) applies in relation to a chargeable transaction if—
(a)the buyer (or one of them) is married or in a civil partnership on the effective date,
(b)the buyer and the buyer’s spouse or civil partner are living together on that date, and
(c)the buyer’s spouse or civil partner is not a buyer in the transaction.
(2)The transaction is to be treated as being a higher rates residential property transaction if it would have been a higher rates residential property transaction had the buyer’s spouse or civil partner been a buyer.
(3)Individuals who are married to, or are civil partners of, each other are treated for the purposes of this Schedule as living together unless—
(a)they are separated under an order of a court of competent jurisdiction,
(b)they are separated by a deed of separation, or
(c)they are in fact separated in circumstances in which the separation is likely to be permanent.