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It’s estimated that 1 in 6 homebuyers in the UK overpay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and are due a refund. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands or tens of thousands of pounds.
The government is not going to tell you if you’ve overpaid and are due a refund. It’s up to you to check your SDLT submission and determine if you have in fact overpaid.
Calculating SDLT is calculated. The only way to be 100% certain that you’ve not overpaid SDLT if you’ve bought property over the last few years is to have a qualified tax accountant specialising in SDLT take a look at your purchase details.
If you want to verify you’ve not overpaid in the past, here is an overview of how you can check if you’re owed a refund from the HMRC:
Why homebuyers pay Stamp Duty Land Tax
Everyone purchasing land or property in England and Northern Ireland are required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase. The SDLT rates are also different for homebuyers and landlords in Scotland and Wales.
The amount payable varies based primarily on the purchase price of the property, along with a number of other factors specific to the purchase and the individual.
Due to the pandemic, there have been extended SDLT “Holiday” periods. During these periods, the rates, particularly for the lowest pricing bracket, have been reduced to encourage homebuyers to buy property.
Why work with a tax advisor?
SDLT has been subject to more changes in recent years than any other comparable tax. This was the case before the special SDLT Holiday was rolled out by the government to help stimulate the housing market during the pandemic, which has only further complicated how SDLT is calculated.
Most homebuyers rely on their solicitor to calculate their SDLT. You need to keep in mind, however, that solicitors are not qualified tax specialists, and they will often use the government SDLT calculator.
The government themselves say that their calculator is to only be used as a guide. There is a long list of special circumstances that can affect how much stamp duty a homebuyer will have to pay, and a tax specialist will be able to run through all of these for you.
The facts are that around 1 in 6 homebuyers do overpay SDLT. Whether this is due to their solicitors miscalculating or the homebuyers are working out their own SDLT, there is no ignoring the fact that a lot of UK homeowners are due refunds.
Cornerstone Tax Advisors
The leading Tax Advisory company in the UK is Cornerstone Tax Advisors. Cornerstone Tax Advisors are one of the UK’s fastest-growing tax advisory firms, and they have a number of tax specialists that can help you uncover if you’re due an SDLT refund.
David Hannah, an ACA, and CTA qualified accountant is one of the Principal Consultants working at Cornerstone. He’s been a leading voice on SDLT in the UK for decades and has helped a large number of homebuyers seek refunds for overpaying SDLT.
David specialises in the more complex areas of stamp duty tax. If you’ve purchased land or property in the last few years, David will be able to look at the details of your purchase and advise you if you’ve overpaid or not.
Taking into account the large number of homebuyers that do overpay SDLT without knowing, it’s worthwhile contacting Cornerstone to have David or another of their tax specialists check your paperwork.
Cornerstone also offers a number of other financial and tax advisory services. Their tax specialists can help with business tax, bespoke tax solutions, wealth management, and more.
