ANGELA Rayner saved £40,000 in stamp duty on her new flat by claiming it was her main home.
The Deputy Prime Minister is understood to have removed her name from deeds on her Greater Manchester property, before buying a £80,000 seaside home in Hove.
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As reported by the Telegraph, this meant she was exempt from forking out an eye-watering £70,000 in stamp duty on what would have been a second home.
It is understood the Labour official instead coughed up a much lower figure of £30,000.
However, she still insists her Manchester property is her main home.
She told Brighton and Hove council the new flat was a second home for council tax purposes.
Despite the fact Mrs Rayner has not done anything illegal, the changes have sparked controversy.
A spokesman for the Deputy PM said: “The Deputy Prime Minister paid the correct duty owed on the purchase, entirely properly and in line with all relevant requirements.
“Any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.”
Meanwhile, changes are also being made to the Land Registry on her constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyne.
The official register states: “Applications are pending in HM Land Registry, which have not been completed against this title.”
The application to vary the ownership is understood to have been made before Mrs Rayner snapped up the Hove property.
This comes as the Deputy PM, dubbed Angela “Three Pads” Rayner is having taxpayers cover the council tax on her grace-and-favour Whitehall flat.
Her apartment in Admiralty House is being treated as her “second home”.
As a result, the £2,034 charge is covered by the Cabinet Office.
If she declared it her main residence, she would have to pay the bill herself.
Under Labour rules brought in this April, ordinary second-home owners must pay a 100 per cent premium, doubling their bills to £4,068.
But this does not apply to Admiralty House as it is an official residence.
Tory party chairman Kevin Hollinrake accused the Government of an “apparent cover-up” over the arrangements.
He said: “It is staggering hypocrisy for the Deputy Prime Minister to push punitive new taxes on family homes while apparently avoiding those same taxes herself. One rule for Rayner, another for everyone else.
“There are now serious questions about the role of Government ministers in this apparent cover-up. Why were these tax perks not disclosed honestly to Parliament?
“And with the revelation of a third property in Hove for weekend use, it is only right to ask whether Admiralty House should in fact be treated as her primary residence and whether she owes the tax liabilities that come with it.”
A Labour spokesman said: “Angela takes her responsibilities seriously and pays the council tax she owes.”
Sources close to Ms Rayner have also said her living arrangements are a result of her working in multiple locations.
Both PM Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves pay full council tax on their Downing Street homes.
Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said: “This is the same Angela Rayner who lectures others on ethics and integrity
“If she cannot be open about her own tax affairs while driving up everyone else’s, what credibility does she have left?”
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