Stamp Duty LT - possible refund?

SDLT150

Hi, first post so go gentle please! Seriously though, hello to everyone and thanks in advance for any info / advice. Query: We sold a large property 900K+ and purchased a smaller property 600K+ (in January) with a separate two-bed annex detached within the plot. The relevant advised SDLT was paid via our legals. Within two weeks of moving in we received two letters from separate companies claiming we had paid too much SDLT, 10K+. All the information was there with price paid and the amount (apparently) overpaid. The companies offered to reclaim the tax from HMRC for a fee. Can anyone confirm if this is a legitimate possibility? I can furnish with more detailed info if needed. TIA. SDLT150

sheramber

I would suggest you ask the people who dealt with your SDLT payment.

Flugelhorn

did they explain why you might have paid too much? 
if there is an overpayment (unlikely) then usually you can claim yourself without paying anyone else a fee

SDLT150

Flugelhorn said:

did they explain why you might have paid too much? 
if there is an overpayment (unlikely) then usually you can claim yourself without paying anyone else a fee

Thanks for your input. The main wording is "correct amount" (what I paid via solicitor) and "minimum amount" paid. Hope that makes sense.

allconnected

Firstly, the letters you’ve  received are almost certainly generic approaches from firms who trawl the land registry and contact everyone purchasing a particular class of property - in your case purchasers of property which includes an annexe or other ancillary dwelling. In some cases it’s possible to claim something called ‘multiple dwellings relief’ and have the SDLT worked out on each property separately by dividing the purchase price by the number of dwellings, which can reduce the overall bill.

However, the letter writers have no idea if this was true  in your particular case, or how your SDLT was actually calculated, they are just guessing and hoping you might sign over a large chunk of any potential repayment to them to chase it up.

Check with your conveyancer how much SDLT you actually paid and how it was calculated as a first step.

Strummer22

allconnected said:

Check with your conveyancer how much SDLT you actually paid and how it was calculated as a first step.

Agree with that but if the annex is truly a separate dwelling then multiple dwelling relief (MDR) would probably apply and could save you quite a lot in stamp duty. Mention to your conveyancer that you think MDR should have been applied and see what they say. 

I claimed MDR on my purchase last year and got, in the end, probably 6-7 of these letters, including one containing a video message which my toddler loved! Of course, each time a letter arrived I just thought 'already done it mate' and chucked it in the recycling.

You don't need a cold-calling firm to claim the refund on your behalf. You can probably do it yourself.

SDLT150

allconnected said:

Firstly, the letters you’ve  received are almost certainly generic approaches from firms who trawl the land registry and contact everyone purchasing a particular class of property - in your case purchasers of property which includes an annexe or other ancillary dwelling. In some cases it’s possible to claim something called ‘multiple dwellings relief’ and have the SDLT worked out on each property separately by dividing the purchase price by the number of dwellings, which can reduce the overall bill.

However, the letter writers have no idea if this was true  in your particular case, or how your SDLT was actually calculated, they are just guessing and hoping you might sign over a large chunk of any potential repayment to them to chase it up.

Check with your conveyancer how much SDLT you actually paid and how it was calculated as a first step.

Excellent, thank you. 

Pablothedreamer

It is possible that an MDR claim was missed, but equally likely in my opinion that the conveyancer took a conservative view so there was no risk of HMRC chasing you at a later date. I agree with other advice; first go back to your conveyancer. If not happy with their reasoning, go on the HMRC website guidance by googling SDLTM00410. Then, if you think your house and fact pattern warrant it, do it yourself or go to an accountants/tax adviser who doesn't charge a percentage of the recovered tax. You'll get an unbiased view and may also save a lot of money. And finally, remember that even if you get your refund, it doesn't mean HMRC agree. They have 9 months to enquire and ask for your money back if they disagree, with interest charged and possibly penalties if you are deemed careless (unlikely if you get an SDLT specialist to advise).

SDLT150

Great info, and thank you for the link. Looks like we have overpaid so will be moving this forward next week