Stamp duty refund info for HMRC after solicitor error
Discussion
We recently sold a 2nd house that we bought in 2013. We used an accountant to handle the CGT and they found that our solicitor has calculated the stamp duty wrongly so we are due a refund.
The mistake may have been because the property was covered by the "Disadvantaged Areas" legislation which was in force when the offer was made, but was abolished in April 2013 which was before the exchange and completion.
According to our accountant the rate which would have been applicable would then have been the standard rate of £270 on the £27,000 excess over the Nil threshold of £125,000. However we paid £1520 which is 1% of the purchase price of £152,000.
So in order to claim a refund HMRC need the following info
- the UTRN - I assume this is my UTRN from the gov gateway?
- copy of the original SDLT return - would the solicitor have this?
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid - I can explain this
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate) - Is this the Land Registry doc?
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document - dunno what this is or if relevant
The mistake may have been because the property was covered by the "Disadvantaged Areas" legislation which was in force when the offer was made, but was abolished in April 2013 which was before the exchange and completion.
According to our accountant the rate which would have been applicable would then have been the standard rate of £270 on the £27,000 excess over the Nil threshold of £125,000. However we paid £1520 which is 1% of the purchase price of £152,000.
So in order to claim a refund HMRC need the following info
- the UTRN - I assume this is my UTRN from the gov gateway?
- copy of the original SDLT return - would the solicitor have this?
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid - I can explain this
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate) - Is this the Land Registry doc?
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document - dunno what this is or if relevant
AndyTR said:
When was the stamp duty paid? You can usually only make a claim for an overpayment within 12 months of the purchase, extended to 3 years in some circumstances. If the stamp duty overpayment was in 2013 you're likely to have any claim rejected.
I think you can - screenshot from HMRC site heregmaz said:
AndyTR said:
When was the stamp duty paid? You can usually only make a claim for an overpayment within 12 months of the purchase, extended to 3 years in some circumstances. If the stamp duty overpayment was in 2013 you're likely to have any claim rejected.
I think you can - screenshot from HMRC site here
On your specific points:
- the UTRN: this is the UTRN specific to that SDLT return. It would be on the SDLT5 certificate.
- copy of the original SDLT return: the solicitor should have this; really they should have sent it to you at the time. They may have archived or destroyed the file after this length of time.
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid: this is interesting; if you completed the purchase in 2013 then the rate of SDLT which applied to a £152,000 purchase would be 1% on the total price which is what you paid: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a... - why does the accountant think this is wrong?
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate): this would be the contract, not the Land Registry TR1. You'd need to have this from the solicitor.
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document: this is the Land Registry TR1; you could potentially obtain a copy from the Land Registry.
The major point is whether it was calculated incorrectly. You refer to disadvantaged areas; that was a relief that ended on 6 April 2013 and applied to sales up to £150,000 so wouldn't ever have been relevant to your purchase. On the face of it, the SDLT calculation looks right to me. Back then, SDLT was charged on the whole price and the rate depended on which band the price fell in; your accountant may be confused because SDLT since December 2014 has been charged in tiers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a...
I'd query this further with the accountant - maybe referring him to these links - rather than spending your time on this.
- the UTRN: this is the UTRN specific to that SDLT return. It would be on the SDLT5 certificate.
- copy of the original SDLT return: the solicitor should have this; really they should have sent it to you at the time. They may have archived or destroyed the file after this length of time.
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid: this is interesting; if you completed the purchase in 2013 then the rate of SDLT which applied to a £152,000 purchase would be 1% on the total price which is what you paid: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a... - why does the accountant think this is wrong?
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate): this would be the contract, not the Land Registry TR1. You'd need to have this from the solicitor.
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document: this is the Land Registry TR1; you could potentially obtain a copy from the Land Registry.
The major point is whether it was calculated incorrectly. You refer to disadvantaged areas; that was a relief that ended on 6 April 2013 and applied to sales up to £150,000 so wouldn't ever have been relevant to your purchase. On the face of it, the SDLT calculation looks right to me. Back then, SDLT was charged on the whole price and the rate depended on which band the price fell in; your accountant may be confused because SDLT since December 2014 has been charged in tiers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a...
I'd query this further with the accountant - maybe referring him to these links - rather than spending your time on this.
Jobbo said:
On your specific points:
- the UTRN: this is the UTRN specific to that SDLT return. It would be on the SDLT5 certificate.
- copy of the original SDLT return: the solicitor should have this; really they should have sent it to you at the time. They may have archived or destroyed the file after this length of time.
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid: this is interesting; if you completed the purchase in 2013 then the rate of SDLT which applied to a £152,000 purchase would be 1% on the total price which is what you paid: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a... - why does the accountant think this is wrong?
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate): this would be the contract, not the Land Registry TR1. You'd need to have this from the solicitor.
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document: this is the Land Registry TR1; you could potentially obtain a copy from the Land Registry.
The major point is whether it was calculated incorrectly. You refer to disadvantaged areas; that was a relief that ended on 6 April 2013 and applied to sales up to £150,000 so wouldn't ever have been relevant to your purchase. On the face of it, the SDLT calculation looks right to me. Back then, SDLT was charged on the whole price and the rate depended on which band the price fell in; your accountant may be confused because SDLT since December 2014 has been charged in tiers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a...
I'd query this further with the accountant - maybe referring him to these links - rather than spending your time on this.
Hi, thanks for this and yes, it looks like the accountant made the error, not the solicitor.- the UTRN: this is the UTRN specific to that SDLT return. It would be on the SDLT5 certificate.
- copy of the original SDLT return: the solicitor should have this; really they should have sent it to you at the time. They may have archived or destroyed the file after this length of time.
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid: this is interesting; if you completed the purchase in 2013 then the rate of SDLT which applied to a £152,000 purchase would be 1% on the total price which is what you paid: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a... - why does the accountant think this is wrong?
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate): this would be the contract, not the Land Registry TR1. You'd need to have this from the solicitor.
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document: this is the Land Registry TR1; you could potentially obtain a copy from the Land Registry.
The major point is whether it was calculated incorrectly. You refer to disadvantaged areas; that was a relief that ended on 6 April 2013 and applied to sales up to £150,000 so wouldn't ever have been relevant to your purchase. On the face of it, the SDLT calculation looks right to me. Back then, SDLT was charged on the whole price and the rate depended on which band the price fell in; your accountant may be confused because SDLT since December 2014 has been charged in tiers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-a...
I'd query this further with the accountant - maybe referring him to these links - rather than spending your time on this.
Well this is interesting, the accountant has doubled down on her own calculation and is claiming the HMRC website is wrong and that thousands of people may have paid the wrong amount back in 2013/2014.
I just hope I don't get the invoice for the solicitor and accountant fighting it out at a rate of £150 per hour + vat
gmaz said:
So in order to claim a refund HMRC need the following info
- the UTRN - I assume this is my UTRN from the gov gateway?
- copy of the original SDLT return - would the solicitor have this?
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid - I can explain this
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate) - Is this the Land Registry doc?
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document - dunno what this is or if relevant
If it is the solicitor’s error, make it their problem and let them sort it out or make you whole themselves. - the UTRN - I assume this is my UTRN from the gov gateway?
- copy of the original SDLT return - would the solicitor have this?
- reason why you think you’ve overpaid - I can explain this
- contract for the land transaction (if appropriate) - Is this the Land Registry doc?
- instrument (if any) by which the transaction was effected, this is generally the relevant transfer document, the lease or similar document - dunno what this is or if relevant
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