Stamp Duty Refund Checker (Higher Rates)

Yes, if you paid the higher rates because you bought a new main home before selling your old one, and you then sold the old one within 3 years. You claim back the surcharge element, which is the difference between the higher rates and the standard rates on the same purchase. You cannot reclaim the surcharge on a property you bought as a buy-to-let or a second home you kept.

HMRC must receive the claim by whichever is later of 12 months after you sold your previous main home, and 12 months after the filing date of the SDLT return on the new one. The filing date is 14 days after completion for purchases from 1 March 2019, so on a completion of 10 March 2026 the return was due by 24 March 2026 and that limb runs to 24 March 2027. For sales on or before 28 October 2018 the first limb is 3 months, not 12.

HMRC does not publish a service standard for higher-rates repayments, so treat anyone quoting a fixed number of days with caution. What is fixed is the deadline at the other end: the claim has to reach HMRC by the later of 12 months after the sale and 12 months after the return's filing date, and a claim sent close to that date leaves no room to fix an error. Submit the complete details first time, including the unique transaction reference number from the original SDLT return, since an incomplete claim is the usual reason one drags on.

The refund is normally lost, but there is an exception. HMRC can extend the 3 year window where you were prevented from selling by exceptional circumstances outside your control, such as a public health restriction or an action by a public authority, and you then sold as soon as you reasonably could. It is discretionary and you have to ask, so it is worth putting the case rather than assuming the claim is dead.

Use HMRC's online service or form SDLT16, the application for a repayment of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax. You need the details of both properties, the completion dates, the SDLT unique transaction reference number from the original return, and the amount you are reclaiming. If an agent filed the original return, ask them for the UTRN.