personal finance

Can I get a refund on stamp duty, which I've paid twice?


Q In September 2017 my wife and I bought a flat in joint names as our permanent home and paid stamp duty. We have now separated and as part of our separation agreement, I paid her a sum of £250,000 for her half share of the flat in order to get full title of the property. I paid £2,500 in stamp duty so that means that stamp duty has been paid twice on this property. Is it possible to get this sum refunded?
MH

A It should be possible to get a refund of the second lot stamp duty land tax (SDLT) you have paid because you shouldn’t have been charged it in the first place. In the words of HM Revenue & Customs: “If you” – or in your case, your ex-wife – “transfer an interest in land or property to your partner as part of an agreement or court order because you are either divorcing or dissolving a civil partnership, you don’t pay SDLT.” And “in these cases there’s no need to tell HMRC about the transfer even if the value is more than the SDLT threshold” of £125,000.

The same in not true for unmarried couples who split up with one buying the other out of his or her share of joint property. In this case if the cost of the bought-out share exceeds £125,000, SDLT is due on the amount over £125,000.



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