Apply for a refund of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-10)

Apply for a refund of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT16) for additional properties if you sell what was previously your main home.

When to apply for a refund of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

You can apply for a refund of the higher rates of SDLT for additional properties if you’ve sold what was previously your main home. You have to be either the:
- main buyer of the property charged at the higher rate of SDLT
- agent acting for the main buyer
You must have sold your previous main home within 3 years of buying the new property, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Properties sold on or after 29 October 2018

If you sold your previous main home on or after 29 October 2018, HMRC must receive your request for a refund by whichever date is the later of:
- 12 months after the date of sale
- 12 months after the filing date of the SDLT return for your new main home
Properties sold on or before 28 October 2018

If you sold your previous main home on or before 28 October 2018, HMRC must receive your request for a refund by whichever date is the later of:
- 3 months after the date of sale
- 12 months after the filing date of the SDLT return for your new main home
It took longer than 3 years to sell your previous home

You can still apply for a refund if:
- you bought your new home on or after 1 January 2017
- exceptional circumstances stopped you from selling your previous home
- you have now sold your previous home
The types of circumstances that may qualify as exceptional usually affect large groups of people and not only the buyer or seller in an individual transaction. These include, but are not limited to:
- being stopped from selling the property because of government imposed restrictions
- an action taken by a public authority stopping the sale
Events which normally occur when buying and selling property are not treated as exceptional circumstances. These events include, but are not limited to:
- not being able to find a buyer at the price you want
- delays in agreeing terms with the buyer
- the breakdown in a chain of transactions
To be eligible for the refund, you must sell your previous home without further delay once the reason for the original delay has ended.

Once this has happened, you can write to HMRC to ask for a refund. You must include:
- an explanation of why you were prevented from selling your previous main home within 3 years
- the information listed in the ‘Before you start’ section of this guide
You should send the information to:

BT Stamp Duty Land TaxHM Revenue and CustomsBX9 1HD

Read about exceptional circumstances in the SDLT manual (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm09807) for more information before you apply.

Before you start

To apply for a refund, you will need:
- your details
- the main buyer’s details, if not your own
- details of the property that attracted the higher rates of SDLT, including the effective date of purchase and the SDLT unique transaction reference number
- details of the previous main home you’ve sold, including the effective date of sale, the address of the property and the name of the buyer
- the amount of tax paid on the property that attracted the higher rates of SDLT
- the amount of tax you’re asking to be repaid
- the bank account and sort code details of the person who should receive the payment
If your refund is going to an agent rather than the purchaser, you’ll need to attach a covering letter and signed purchaser authority. This should be in JPEG or PDF format, and a maximum of 5MB in size.

If you’re an agent acting on behalf of the main buyer, you’ll also need a signed letter of consent from them.

Apply for a refund

Make sure your browser is up to date (https://www.gov.uk/help/browsers) before you start to fill in the form. You cannot save a partly completed form so have all your information together before you start to fill it in.

Apply online

You’ll need to sign in to use this service. If you do not already have sign in details, you’ll be able to create them.

Email HMRC to ask for this form in Welsh (Cymraeg) (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/welsh-language-helplines).

Start now (https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/submissions/new-form/apply-for-refund-on-higher-rates-of-stamp-duty-land-tax)

If you cannot use the online service

Get all of your information together before you start. You will fill this form in online and you cannot save your progress.

Fill in SDLT16 (https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/print-and-post/form/IndirectTax/1.0/SDLT16BUD2910/sdlt16.xdp).

Print and post it to HMRC, using the postal address shown on the form.