Who qualifies for the SDLT surcharge refund?
- You bought a new main residence (not a buy-to-let) and paid the 3% surcharge because you still owned another property at completion
- You have since sold your previous main residence within 3 years of the new purchase
- You claim within 12 months of the sale of the previous main residence (or 12 months from the SDLT filing date, whichever is later)
- The property sold was your main residence at some point — not a pure investment property
How to calculate the refund
Example
New home purchased for £450,000 — 3% surcharge = £13,500. That £13,500 is the full refund amount when the old main home is sold within 3 years.
Step-by-step: how to claim
- Gather: original SDLT return (UTRN), completion statements for both the new purchase and old property sale
- Use HMRC's online service: search 'Claim a refund of SDLT additional dwellings supplement'
- Enter: UTRN, completion dates, sale price of old property, buyer details
- Processing: typically 15 working days; complex cases up to 6 months
Common reasons for rejected claims
- Missing the 3-year window for selling the old property
- Missing the 12-month claim deadline after the sale
- The 'previous main residence' was never occupied as a home by the buyer
- The new purchase was not used as a main residence (landlord continues to rent elsewhere)
- Old property sold to a connected person — HMRC may treat this as a non-qualifying disposal
Landlord-specific rules
- Buying a new main home while owning an existing buy-to-let: 3% surcharge applies; refund IS available when the old main home is sold within 3 years — the buy-to-let does not affect eligibility
- Buying a buy-to-let while owning other buy-to-lets: 3% surcharge applies; NO refund available — not a main residence replacement
- Bridging strategy: use a bridging loan to buy the new home, pay the surcharge at completion, reclaim when the old home sells within 3 years — a legitimate approach