Stamp duty refund on a second home in England (2026): getting the 5% higher rates back

Can you get a stamp duty refund on a second home?

Yes, in one situation: the new home replaces the buyer’s main home, but the old main home was still theirs at the end of the completion day. The buyer then pays the higher rates for additional dwellings, 5% of the price on top of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), because on paper they own two homes. Once the old main home is sold or given away within 3 years of buying the new one, HMRC refunds the higher rates (Finance Act 2003, Schedule 4ZA, paragraph 3(7)).

There is no refund for a true second home. A holiday home or a buy to let bought while the buyer keeps living in their main home pays the higher rates for good, even if another property is sold later, because the new home is not replacing the buyer’s main residence. The rules for that case are in the second homes guide.

How much stamp duty is refunded?

The higher rates part of the bill, and nothing else. On a £400,000 home bought before the old home was sold, the buyer pays £30,000 in SDLT at completion:

£400,000 home, old main home not yet sold at completion

Line	Kind	Amount	Estimate range	Share of price
SDLT higher rates for an additional home (+5%)	Tax	£20,000		5.00%
Stamp Duty Land Tax	Tax	£10,000		2.50%
Conveyancing solicitor (market rate)	Fee, estimate	£1,000	£500 to £1,500	0.25%
Local searches	Fee, estimate	£350	£250 to £450	0.09%
HM Land Registry fee (Scale 1)	Fee	£150		0.04%
Taxes		£30,000		7.50%
Fees, typical		£1,500	£900 to £2,100	0.38%
Total on top of the price		£31,500	£30,900 to £32,100	7.88%

After a sale within 3 years, the SDLT is worked out again as if the old home had been sold first, and the difference, £20,000, comes back. What stays paid is the standard bands:

The same home once the old one is sold: what the buyer ends up paying

Line	Kind	Amount	Estimate range	Share of price
Stamp Duty Land Tax	Tax	£10,000		2.50%
Conveyancing solicitor (market rate)	Fee, estimate	£1,000	£500 to £1,500	0.25%
Local searches	Fee, estimate	£350	£250 to £450	0.09%
HM Land Registry fee (Scale 1)	Fee	£150		0.04%
Taxes		£10,000		2.50%
Fees, typical		£1,500	£900 to £2,100	0.38%
Total on top of the price		£11,500	£10,900 to £12,100	2.88%

The refund at other prices, for purchases completed from 31 October 2024:

Price of the new home	Paid at completion	Refunded after the sale	SDLT kept
£250,000	£15,000	£12,500	£2,500
£400,000	£30,000	£20,000	£10,000
£600,000	£50,000	£30,000	£20,000
£1,000,000	£93,750	£50,000	£43,750

The refund is the higher rates paid at the time of purchase. The rate rose from 3% to 5% for purchases completed on or after 31 October 2024 (HMRC policy paper), so a buyer who completed before that date paid 3%, and 3% is what comes back.

Who qualifies for the refund?

GOV.UK and Schedule 4ZA, paragraph 3, set these conditions:

• the buyer intends the new home to be their only or main residence (paragraph 3(6) and (7));
• the home sold or given away was the buyer’s previous main residence;
• it is sold or given away within 3 years beginning with the day after the new purchase (paragraph 3(7A));
• after the sale, neither the buyer nor their spouse or civil partner still owns any part of the old home (GOV.UK).

The claim is made by the main buyer of the property that paid the higher rates, or by an agent acting for them (form SDLT16).

How long do you have to claim a stamp duty refund?

Two clocks run:

Deadline	Rule	Source
Sell or give away the old main home	Within 3 years of buying the new one	Schedule 4ZA, paragraph 3(7A)
Claim the refund (sale on or after 29 October 2018)	HMRC must receive it within 12 months of the sale, or within 12 months of the filing date of the new home’s SDLT return, whichever is later	GOV.UK; SDLTM09809

The new home’s return is due 14 days after completion, so for most buyers the deadline that counts is 12 months after the sale of the old home.

How do you claim the refund from HMRC?

With form SDLT16, “Apply for a refund of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax”, on GOV.UK. There are two ways to send it:

• Online. The buyer or agent signs in (sign-in details can be created on the spot). The form cannot be saved part way, so GOV.UK advises having everything ready first.
• By post. The form is filled in online, printed and posted to the address shown on it.

The form asks for:

• the claimant’s details, and the main buyer’s if an agent is claiming;
• the property that paid the higher rates: its effective date of purchase and the SDLT unique transaction reference number (UTRN) from the return;
• the previous main home: its address, the effective date of the sale and the buyer’s name;
• the tax paid and the amount to be repaid;
• the bank account for the repayment.

The refund is paid into the account of the person who should receive it. If it is to be paid to an agent instead of the buyer, HMRC needs a covering letter and the buyer’s signed authority. GOV.UK does not say how long a repayment takes. Agents have been able to use the online form since 10 March 2025.

What if the old home takes longer than 3 years to sell?

HMRC can extend the 3 years only when the sale was prevented by exceptional circumstances that could not reasonably have been foreseen (Schedule 4ZA, paragraph 3(7A)(b)). GOV.UK says these usually affect many people at once, such as restrictions imposed by a government or action by a public authority. Not finding a buyer at the asking price, slow negotiations or a broken chain do not count, and the home must be sold without further delay once the obstacle ends.

A buyer in that position, who bought the new home on or after 1 January 2017 and has now sold, writes to HMRC after the sale explaining what prevented it: BT Stamp Duty Land Tax, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1HD.

Can a non-resident also get the 2% back?

The 2% non-resident surcharge is a separate charge with a separate refund. It depends on days spent in the UK, not on what the buyer owns: every buyer must be in the UK for 183 days in a continuous 365-day period around the purchase, and the claim is made by amending the SDLT return within 2 years (SDLTM09960). On a £400,000 home bought by a non-resident whose old home was unsold, both refunds can apply:

£400,000 home, non-resident, old main home unsold	SDLT
Higher rates, refunded after the old home is sold	£20,000
Non-resident surcharge, refunded after 183 days in the UK	£8,000

The non-resident surcharge guide explains the day count, joint buyers and how the return is amended, and moving to England covers a home left abroad, which counts for the higher rates too.

What this guide does not cover

• Companies, trusts and partnerships, which have their own higher rates rules.
• Refunds of SDLT for other reasons, such as a mistake on the return.
• Scotland and Wales, which have their own taxes and their own surcharges on additional homes.
• Capital gains tax on the sale of the old home.

Work out the stamp duty paid before a refund at your price