Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) – Investor | SDLT Refunds

What is Stamp Duty Land Tax?

Often referred to as Stamp Duty, or SDLT, Stamp Duty Land Tax is a self-assessed tax paid by buyers of property in the UK based on that property’s value, as well as other, less well-understood factors. Introduced in 2003 as a replacement for the old Stamp Duty - tax on documents – it has been one of the most often adjusted and amended pieces of tax legislation on the UK statute books ever since.

Why would I have paid the wrong amount of SDLT?

The complexity and propensity for change in the SDLT legislation have combined to ensure that SDLT is also one of the least-understood taxes, particularly by those most directly effected by it, namely buyers and their solicitors, who are most often charged with completing the SDLT return on behalf of their clients.

Added to this, HMRC’s own SDLT calculators, provided on their websites, are not tailored to take account of all the variables which may affect the amount of SDLT due on a transaction. Indeed, in 2018 HMRC were forced to clarify to a national newspaper reporting on these facts that the calculators are intended merely as ‘a guide’.

All this means that mistakes are common – as many as one in five SDLT returns may be incorrectly completed, leading to millions of pounds in overpaid SDLT to HMRC every year. This can be because of missed reliefs based on the circumstances of the buyer, misclassification of the property being bought or any one of the more than thirty exemptions in the legislation being missed by the solicitor completing the SDLT return.

How do I know if I have overpaid SDLT?

As an investor (either a company or individual) acquiring additional residential property which does not replace your main residence, or who has acquired a residential property on a Buy To Let basis, you would normally be subject to higher rate transactional tax, or 3% Loading on your SDLT, also known as the ‘3% surcharge’.

HOWEVER, if you:

Bought commercial land or mixed-use land
Bought property in a transaction that totalled less than £40,000
Owned any number of properties, but made a purchase that was intended as your new main residence

Then it’s likely you were incorrectly assessed for SDLT and be entitled to a refund for overpayment.

What do I do next?

Finding out if you have a claim and moving forward with it couldn’t be simpler. Contact us by completing the form below or phone, or email us and one of our expert advisers will contact you within an hour to assess your situation and determine whether or not you are owed money.

We operate on a no claim, no fee basis, and in the event that a claim exists, we will handle it on your behalf for a transparent, fixed fee.

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FAQ's

Please have a look at our most frequently asked questions. If you can't find the answers you're looking for then please contact one of our tax advisers by phone 03333 050954 or email newbusiness@ctatax.uk.com.

If you have made any kind of investment purchase in the last four years, from a commercial premises to a block of flats, there is a better than average chance that errors were made in calculating your SDLT liability. The best way to be sure is to contact SDLT Refunds and have one of our team assess the transaction.

There is an almost universal tendency to defer to solicitors when it comes to assessment of SDLT liability on a purchase. Even those that don’t rely on the solicitor are likely to simply make an assessment based on HMRC’s calculator. The complex nature of the SDLT legislation, combined with the rapid pace of change, means that only Experienced and Qualified Stamp Duty Specialists will be able to provide the most accurate, up to date assessment of the SDLT liability on any purchase.

Solicitors are extremely wary of looking too closely at SDLT because of campaigns by both HMRC and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in relation ‘tax avoidance’. The truth is they're more frightened of them than they are of you finding out that you’ve been made to pay too much tax. This, combined with trust in solicitors and the lack of knowledge and readily available, digestible information for the public on SDLT have meant that these errors and overpayments continue to this day.

You simply instruct SDLT Refunds and then we act on your behalf as your appointed representative and deal with the claim process from start to finish direct with HMRC. We are also happy to liaise with your professional advisers/accountants where required. From your point of view, it’s as easy as filling out a few details and then waiting for your refund to arrive.

Absolutely not. This is a legitimate assessment of the proper tax position which involves claiming back only money which has been overpaid based on the specifics of the transaction. There is no more reason to suppose this might affect your other tax affairs than would a claim for a VAT refund.

The first thing to bear in mind is that SDLT Refunds operates this service on a no win-no fee basis. The second is that in over two years of making these claims on behalf various clients including investors, we have a 100% success rate and hundreds of satisfied customers. We will only make a claim where we are confident that a refund is owed.

We will agree fees with you once the initial assessment has been made and a claim has been determined to exist. This fee will be transparent and final – there are no hidden costs or extras in our process.

As part of the Cornerstone family, SDLT Refunds brings expertise and resources unparalleled in the field of property taxation advice to the table. Simply put, there is nobody more qualified in the UK to deal with your SDLT advice requirements.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) – Investor