In England and Northern Ireland, stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is charged on the purchase of a residential property over £125,000. If buying your new home means you end the day of completion owning more than one property, you pay an extra 5% on top of every rate band — the “higher rates for additional dwellings”. That surcharge was increased from 3% to 5% on 31 October 2024 and still applies in the 2025/26 tax year.
The trap is obvious: many movers complete on their new house before the sale of their old house has gone through, usually because the chains are not aligned. The moment you own two homes, you owe the higher rates — even though the second property is genuinely your new main residence. HMRC understands this, which is why the law contains a relief and a refund mechanism. If you sell your old home in time, you can claw back the surcharge you paid.
1.Who Can Claim the Refund?
You can apply for a refund of the higher rates of SDLT if you are either the main buyer of the property charged at the higher rate, or the agent acting for the main buyer. To qualify, all of the following must be true:
- You paid the higher rates because, at completion of your new home, you still owned your previous main residence.
- The new property became your main residence (a “replacement” for the old one).
- You sold your previous main home within 36 months of buying the new property.
- Your claim reaches HMRC within the statutory time limit (see below).
There is a practical nuance for couples. If the previous home was owned by only one partner, that partner must also be a buyer of the new home for their disposal to count towards the refund. Each disposal of a main residence can only be used against one purchase, so you cannot sell one old house and use the same sale to justify two separate refund claims. If more than one person owns the previous home jointly, each owner can rely on their own disposal.
2.The 36-Month Rule
The 36-month rule is the heart of this refund. Under the SDLT rules (referred to by HMRC as “Condition D”), a purchase counts as a replacement of your main residence if your previous main home is sold within 3 years of the effective date of the new purchase — in practice, the date you completed on the new home.
The window was originally 18 months. For sales of the previous home on or after 29 October 2018, the period was extended to 36 months, giving movers a full three years to complete the sale of the old property.
The claim deadline is separate from the 36-month window. For sales on or after 29 October 2018, HMRC must receive your refund request by whichever date is the later of:
- 12 months after the date you sold your previous home, or
- 12 months after the filing date of the SDLT return for your new main home.
3.How Much You Get Back
The refund equals the difference between the higher rates you actually paid and the standard rates that would have applied if the new home had been your only property. Since the surcharge is a flat 5 percentage points added to every band, your refund is, in most cases, exactly 5% of the purchase price — with no upper cap.
The rates that matter for a 2025/26 purchase (in force from 1 April 2025) are:
| Purchase price portion | Standard rate | Higher rate (additional dwellings) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 5% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | 7% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% | 10% |
| £925,001 – £1.5 million | 10% | 15% |
| Over £1.5 million | 12% | 17% |
If you are a non-UK resident you may also have paid a 2% surcharge on top — that has separate refund rules. HMRC pays repayment interest if a refund is late, so a successful claim should return the full surcharge plus any interest due.
4.How to Claim (SDLT60 Form)
The claim is made through HMRC’s online service, “Apply for a refund of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax”, which you access by signing in with your Government Gateway details. If you cannot use the online service, HMRC’s paper form is SDLT16, which you print, complete and post. Older articles and forum threads sometimes refer to this claim as the “SDLT60 form”; whichever name you see, always check the current gov.uk guidance before applying, because HMRC moved the application online in August 2024.
Have the following to hand before you start (you cannot save a partly completed online form):
- Your details, and those of the main buyer if you are claiming as their agent.
- Details of the new property: the effective date of purchase and the SDLT unique transaction reference number.
- Details of the previous home you sold: the effective date of sale, the address and the buyer’s name.
- The amount of SDLT you paid on the property charged at the higher rates, and the amount you are asking HMRC to repay.
- The bank account and sort code of the person who should receive the refund.
If an agent claims on your behalf, HMRC needs a signed letter of authority from the purchaser. One useful shortcut: if you sell your old home before the SDLT return for the new home is filed (within 14 days of completion), the return can simply be completed as a non-higher-rates transaction and no refund claim is needed at all — tell your conveyancer about the sale the moment it completes.
5.Worked Example
Suppose you completed on a new home for £450,000 in June 2025 while your old house was still on the market. Because you owned two properties at completion, you paid SDLT at the higher rates. Let’s compare what you paid with what you should have paid once the old home is sold within 36 months:
| Portion of £450,000 | Standard SDLT | Higher-rate SDLT paid | Refund due |
|---|---|---|---|
| First £125,000 (0% vs 5%) | £0 | £6,250 | £6,250 |
| £125,001 – £250,000 (2% vs 7%) | £2,500 | £8,750 | £6,250 |
| £250,001 – £450,000 (5% vs 10%) | £10,000 | £20,000 | £10,000 |
| Total | £12,500 | £35,000 | £22,500 |
You paid £35,000 at the higher rates. Once the old home is sold within 36 months, the correct standard-rate bill is £12,500, so you claim back £22,500 — exactly 5% of the £450,000 purchase price. That is the single most common higher-rate refund: the full surcharge on the price you paid.
6.Timeline & Common Pitfalls
A typical successful claim follows this timeline:
- Completion day: you complete on the new home while still owning the old one; your solicitor files the SDLT return and pays the higher rates (the return and payment are due within 14 days of completion).
- Months 0–36: you sell your previous main home. The completion date of that sale is the trigger date for your refund clock.
- As soon as possible after the sale: gather the transaction details and submit the online refund application to HMRC.
- Within the deadline: HMRC must receive the claim by the later of 12 months after the sale of the old home or 12 months after the filing date of the new home’s SDLT return.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Missing the 36-month sale window. There is no grace period for ordinary delays — only exceptional circumstances accepted by HMRC can extend it.
- Missing the 12-month claim deadline. The date HMRC receives your application is what counts, so do not post paper forms at the last minute; the online service is safer.
- Reusing one sale for two claims. A disposal of a previous main residence can only count against one purchase, so plan joint-ownership claims carefully.
- Assuming the new home must be “lived in” immediately. The property must become your main residence; if you rented it out instead, the refund may not be available.
- Overlooking the 14-day filing window. If the old home sells before the new home’s return is filed, you may never need to pay the higher rates at all.
7.FAQs
How long do I have to sell my old home to claim a stamp duty refund?
You must sell your previous main home within 36 months (3 years) of buying the new property, unless exceptional circumstances apply. Ordinary delays — a chain falling through, a buyer pulling out, not finding a buyer at your asking price — do not count.
What is the deadline for submitting the refund claim to HMRC?
For sales on or after 29 October 2018, HMRC must receive your claim by the later of 12 months after the date you sold your previous home, or 12 months after the filing date of the SDLT return for your new main home.
How much stamp duty can I claim back?
The full difference between the higher rates you paid and the standard rates for a single property. With the 5% surcharge in force since 31 October 2024, that is normally 5% of the purchase price, with no upper cap.
Can I claim the refund before I have sold my old home?
No. The refund of the higher rates is only available once your previous main home has actually been sold — unless exceptional circumstances prevented the sale and HMRC accepts a written application from you.
What if I sold my old home before 29 October 2018?
Different time limits apply. For sales on or before 28 October 2018 the claim had to be made within 3 months of the sale or 12 months of the SDLT return filing date, whichever is later — those older claims are now almost certainly time-barred.
Related Guides
This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Rates and rules shown are those in force from 1 April 2025 (the 2025/26 tax year) and can change in future budgets — always check the current GOV.UK guidance or speak to a qualified tax adviser before claiming.