If you completed on a new home before selling your old one and paid the 5% additional-property surcharge, you are usually entitled to reclaim it from HMRC once you sell the old home — provided the sale takes place within three years of the new purchase. This guide walks through when the refund applies, how much you get back, the deadline, and how to actually file the claim.

The 30-second summary

• You're eligible if the new home replaces your only or main residence and you sell the previous main residence within three years of the new purchase's effective date.
• The refund is the difference between the SDLT you paid (at additional-property rates) and the SDLT you would have paid at standard rates.
• You must apply within the later of 12 months after the sale of the old home or 12 months after the SDLT filing date.
• You apply online through HMRC. Refunds typically arrive in 15–30 working days.
• If the old home doesn't sell in time, you may still qualify for a refund under "exceptional circumstances" — but it's discretionary and not guaranteed.

Who can claim a refund

You can claim if all of the following are true:

1. You paid the higher rates of SDLT on your new home purchase. The higher rates were 3% before 31 October 2024 and 5% on or after that date, added to every standard band.
2. The new home is now your only or main residence — you have moved in and treat it as your main home.
3. You have sold (or are selling) the previous main residence. Disposing of the property by gift, transfer, or sale all count, provided the disposal is genuine and the property leaves your ownership.
4. The disposal happens within three years of the effective date of the new home's purchase. The "effective date" is usually completion.

The rules look at married couples and civil partners together. If either of you owned a previous main home and that home is sold within three years, the household qualifies.

How much can you reclaim?

The refund is the additional-property surcharge element of the SDLT you paid. On most purchases that's roughly 5% of the price minus a few thousand at the lower end (because the surcharge applies only above £40,000). Some worked examples:

New home price	SDLT paid (with surcharge)	SDLT due (standard rates)	Refund
£250,000	£15,000	£2,500	£12,500
£350,000	£22,500	£7,500	£15,000
£450,000	£32,500	£12,500	£20,000
£600,000	£50,000	£20,000	£30,000
£800,000	£70,000	£30,000	£40,000

To run the numbers on your exact price, use the SDLT refund calculator.

The three-year clock

The deadline that catches people out is the three-year window between buying the new home and selling the old one. The clock starts on the effective date of the new purchase (usually completion). If the old home doesn't sell within three years, you lose the refund.

In limited circumstances HMRC will extend the window for "exceptional circumstances outside the control of the person claiming the refund" — for example, illness preventing the sale being marketed, a buyer pulling out very late, government action affecting the local market. These extensions are case-by-case and require a written explanation with supporting evidence. They are not granted because the market simply slowed.

How to claim — the actual process

1. Wait for completion of the sale of the old home. You can't apply before the old home actually sells.
2. Gather the paperwork:
   • The SDLT5 certificate or unique transaction reference number for the original purchase (your solicitor will have this)
   • Completion dates of both transactions
   • The sale price of the old home
   • Your bank details (sort code, account number, name)
3. Apply online through HMRC. Search GOV.UK for "Apply for a repayment of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax" and use the digital form. You can also write to HMRC at the address shown on the form, but the online route is faster.
4. HMRC reviews and pays. Most refunds are paid within 15–30 working days. HMRC may write to ask for evidence if anything on the form looks inconsistent — respond quickly to avoid delay.

The deadline

You must apply within the later of:

• 12 months after the sale of the old main home, or
• 12 months after the SDLT filing date for the new purchase.

In practice the relevant deadline is almost always 12 months from the sale of the old home, because the SDLT was filed shortly after the original purchase.

What if I sold the old home before the new purchase?

Then you weren't liable for the surcharge in the first place — the new purchase is straightforwardly a replacement of your main residence, and standard rates apply at completion. No refund needed. Your solicitor should not have paid the surcharge to HMRC. If they did, the route to recovery is to amend the SDLT return (overpayment relief) rather than the higher-rates refund process.

What if I gift the old home rather than sell it?

Disposing of the old main residence — by gift, sale or transfer — all count, provided the disposal is genuine and the property genuinely leaves your ownership. Gifts to spouses or civil partners do not qualify because married couples and civil partners are treated as a single unit for SDLT. Gifts to children or other family members typically do qualify, but they may trigger capital gains tax and inheritance tax implications worth thinking through with a tax adviser.

What if I'm a non-UK resident?

The replacement-of-main-residence refund process applies regardless of your residency. Separately, if you were non-UK resident at completion and paid the 2% non-resident surcharge but later become UK resident, you can claim back the 2% surcharge. The non-resident refund is a different process and has its own deadline (two years from the transaction's effective date).

What if HMRC refuses my claim?

You have a right to appeal. Within 30 days of HMRC's refusal, you can request an internal review. If you disagree with the review outcome, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber). Most appeals are best handled with a CTA-qualified tax adviser given the technical detail involved.

Where the refund won't help you

Some scenarios that look like they should qualify, but don't:

• You bought a property purely as an investment. No refund — the surcharge stays.
• You can't sell the old home for full asking price. Selling at a reduced price still qualifies as a disposal — the refund is unaffected by what you actually got for it.
• The old home wasn't actually your main residence. If you had two homes and one was a holiday home or rental, only the genuine main residence's disposal triggers the refund.
• You moved out of the old home but didn't sell. Renting out the old home rather than selling it doesn't trigger a refund — the property still belongs to you.

One more catch: the cash-flow timing

The surcharge has to be paid in cash at completion of the new purchase. It can't be added to your mortgage. On a £450,000 replacement-home purchase, that's an extra £20,000 of cash you need on completion day, even though you'll eventually get most of it back. Plan your completion funds accordingly.

Last verified against HMRC: 16 May 2026.