🇬🇧 England SDLT · 2026 Rates

Stamp Duty Overpayment Checker

Enter your purchase price and buyer type → see if a common stamp duty overpayment trigger applies to you.

The price you paid, in £
Home mover
First-time buyer
Additional property
Yes, I paid it
No / not sure
Check your completion statement or SDLT5 certificate
Correct SDLT (est.)
Possible Overpayment

England SDLT Bands 2026

BandStandardFirst-Time BuyerAdditional Property
£0 – £125,0000%0% (to £300k)5%
£125,001 – £250,0002%0% (to £300k)7%
£250,001 – £300,0005%0% (to £300k)10%
£300,001 – £500,0005%5%*10%
£500,001 – £925,0005%n/a — standard rate10%
£925,001 – £1.5m10%n/a15%
Above £1.5m12%n/a17%

*FTB relief applies only up to £500,000 — above that, FTB relief is withdrawn entirely and standard rates apply to the full price.

Common Overpayment Triggers

Get Your Exact Refund Estimate

This checker gives a rough England-only estimate. If you're in Scotland (LBTT) or Wales (LTT), bought before a rate change, or want a precise figure with all four overpayment triggers modelled together, you need the full refund calculator.

Five situations where the full calculator matters:

The Stamp Duty Refund Calculator at checkstampduty.co.uk covers England, Scotland and Wales, models all four common overpayment triggers, and links through to the full pillar calculator for England/Scotland/Wales purchases.

Open Full Stamp Duty Refund Calculator →

How to Check for a Stamp Duty Refund — Step by Step

1. Find your SDLT5 certificate or completion statement

This shows the exact amount of stamp duty you paid at the time of purchase.

2. Recompute the correct amount

Use current SDLT bands for your buyer type — or the full stamp duty calculator for England, Scotland or Wales — to work out what should have been charged.

3. Compare and identify the trigger

If the figures don't match, check which of the common triggers above applies to your purchase.

4. File a claim with HMRC

Amend your original SDLT return directly with HMRC, or use a refund/reclaim specialist. Most claims must be filed within 12 months of the filing date.

How This Checker Works — Formulas & Method

Source: HMRC SDLT rates, England, 2026 · Deterministic calculation — no AI, no estimation

Band Thresholds Used

BandStandardSurcharge (+)
£0 – £125,0000%+5%
£125,001 – £250,0002%+5%
£250,001 – £925,0005%+5%
£925,001 – £1.5m10%+5%
Above £1.5m12%+5%

Formula

— Marginal band calculation —
tax = Σ over each band: min(price, band_top) − band_bottom × band_rate

— FTB relief (price ≤ £500,000 only) —
tax = 0 for first £300,000, 5% for £300,001–£500,000

— Additional property —
tax = standard_tax + (price × 5%) flat +5pp on full price if above £40,000

— Overpayment flag —
overpayment = amount_paid − correct_tax flagged if > £0

England-only, simplified estimate. Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) use different bands — use the full calculator at checkstampduty.co.uk for those. Not a substitute for a formal HMRC refund claim.

Transparency & Methodology

SD

Stamp Duty Overpayment Checker

Independent, Open-Source Estimator

An independent tool applying published HMRC SDLT rates deterministically — no AI estimate, no affiliation with HMRC.

Methodology & Sources

Figures are public HMRC SDLT rates (see formula table above). For your official position, check gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax.

Not Tax or Legal Advice

This tool provides information only. Before filing a refund claim, consult a solicitor/conveyancer or a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Open Source

Formulas and calculation code are public. Inspect on GitHub.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I overpaid stamp duty?
Common overpayment triggers include: paying the second-home 5% surcharge when the property was actually a replacement main residence, missing first-time-buyer relief, being charged the non-UK-resident 2% surcharge in error, or missing Multiple Dwellings Relief on a purchase involving more than one dwelling (e.g. a granny annexe). Re-run the numbers against current SDLT bands to compare what you paid against what was actually owed.
How far back can I claim a stamp duty refund?
HMRC generally allows SDLT refund claims within 12 months of the filing date (or 4 years for some grounds), and refunds of the second-home surcharge specifically must usually be claimed within 12 months of selling the previous main residence, or 12 months of the filing date if later.
What is Multiple Dwellings Relief and could I be owed it?
Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR) reduced SDLT when a single transaction included two or more dwellings (e.g. a house with a self-contained annexe). It was abolished for transactions completing on or after 1 June 2024, but purchases that completed before that date may still be able to claim it retroactively within the standard claim window.
Do I need a solicitor to claim a stamp duty refund?
No — SDLT refund claims can be filed directly with HMRC by amending the original SDLT return, or via a refund/reclaim specialist on a no-win-no-fee basis. A solicitor or conveyancer can also file the amendment, usually for a fixed fee.
What if I paid the second-home surcharge but then sold my old home?
If you paid the 5% additional-property surcharge because you hadn't yet sold your previous main residence, you can usually reclaim it once that previous home is sold — provided the sale completes within 36 months of buying the new property.
Is this checker the same as filing an HMRC refund claim?
No. This is a free estimate tool only — it flags whether a common overpayment scenario applies and roughly how much may be involved. It does not file anything with HMRC. Use the full stamp duty refund calculator to model your exact figures before making a claim.