Stamp duty buying before selling

How does stamp duty buying before selling work?

Stamp duty buying before selling can mean paying higher property tax because you still own your old home at completion. You may be able to reclaim the extra after selling your previous main home, if you meet the local rules.

In England and Northern Ireland, the tax is Stamp Duty Land Tax, or SDLT. If you still own your old main home when you complete the purchase, the higher rates for additional dwellings can apply.

Moving into the new house does not by itself remove the extra charge. Nor does accepting an offer on your old house. Your solicitor or conveyancer needs to check whether the sale has actually completed.

The new home's location decides which property tax applies. A purchase in Scotland or Wales follows different rules, even if the home you are selling is in England.

Check the government's SDLT guidance and ask your solicitor or conveyancer to confirm the tax for your purchase.

Tell them about other homes and property shares you own, including overseas property. Joint ownership and the circumstances of anyone buying with you can affect the result.

How much money do you need on completion?

The extra tax increases the money you need for the move before your old home sells. A possible refund later does not reduce the bill you must fund at the start.

Your conveyancer will usually collect the property tax with your completion money. Ask for a completion statement showing the full tax bill separately from the purchase balance and legal costs.

Your budget needs to include:

• The purchase money still due after any deposit already paid.
• The full property tax due for buying while you still own your old home.
• Legal costs, searches, removals and any borrowing costs payable at completion.
• Money for running both homes while the sale remains unfinished.

For illustration only, suppose you are buying for £400,000 and selling a home valued at £300,000 with a £100,000 mortgage. The expected sale proceeds are not cash you already have.

Those house prices and that mortgage balance do not establish what you could borrow. They also leave out tax, selling costs and the cost of any new borrowing.

Use the calculators to explore the gap between money available now and money needed for completion. Keep an expected refund separate.

Enter the purchase price, buying costs including tax, and cash available before your sale completes. Use the Sale plan calculator separately to test a lower selling price, including all secured debts in the repayment figure.

When can you claim a second home stamp duty refund?

In England and Northern Ireland, you can usually reclaim the extra SDLT if you sell your previous main residence within three years of buying your new one and meet the replacement conditions.

This is a refund of the extra charge for additional dwellings. It does not mean you recover all the SDLT paid on the purchase.

Claim within 12 months of selling your previous main home, or within 12 months of the filing date of the SDLT return for your new home, whichever is later.

The deadline for selling and the deadline for claiming are separate. Put both in your records. An estate agent marking your old home as sold subject to contract does not complete the sale.

You may not qualify if you retain a share of the old home or the higher rates still apply for another reason. Selling a different property does not automatically meet the previous main residence test.

HMRC explains the conditions in its guidance on additional residential property.

Keep your SDLT transaction reference, purchase and sale completion details, tax calculation and proof of payment. These help you or your conveyancer prepare the claim.

Agree who will submit it. HMRC's refund application guidance lists the information needed.

What changes if you buy in Scotland?

Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, or LBTT. Its extra charge is called the Additional Dwelling Supplement, or ADS. Use Scottish rules for the purchase, wherever your old home is.

If you buy your next main home while retaining the previous one, ADS can be payable alongside LBTT. Include both in the money needed for settlement, the Scottish term for completion.

You can claim repayment of ADS if you sell your previous main home within 36 months of buying the new one and meet the other conditions.

Your old home must also have been your only or main residence within the 36 months before the purchase. You must have lived in the new home as your only or main residence.

Joint purchases need particular care. Ask your solicitor to check the residence conditions for everyone buying, and confirm the claim deadline rather than using the SDLT deadline.

Start with Revenue Scotland's LBTT guidance and its ADS repayment conditions.

The contract process also differs. Concluded missives create a binding contract. Check the funding position before that point with your solicitor, as explained in Scottish buying guidance.

What changes if you buy in Wales?

Wales uses Land Transaction Tax, or LTT. If you buy your new main home before selling the previous one, the higher residential rates can apply.

You can usually claim a refund if you sell your previous main home within three years of buying the new main home and meet the conditions.

The refund is the difference between the higher residential tax bill and the main residential tax bill. It is not a refund of every purchase cost.

The Welsh Revenue Authority handles LTT. An SDLT claim sent to HMRC does not deal with tax on a Welsh purchase.

Check the Welsh Revenue Authority's LTT guide and its higher residential tax guidance with your conveyancer.

Ask them to confirm the claim procedure and filing deadline. Wales has its own rules, so the English deadline should not go in your diary for a Welsh purchase.

If you are selling in England and buying in Wales, give both conveyancers the purchase and sale details. The tax on your new home follows its Welsh location.

How do a bridging loan and stamp duty work together?

A bridging loan does not itself trigger the extra property tax. Owning both homes when the purchase completes is what matters, subject to the rules for that purchase.

Paying with savings rather than borrowing does not remove the extra tax if the ownership conditions still apply. The source of the purchase money is a separate question.

A bridging specialist can discuss your funding needs and give you a quote. The lender decides whether to offer a loan and what terms apply.

Ask the bridging specialist to distinguish the total borrowing from the money available for your purchase after any deductions. A headline borrowing figure may not all reach your conveyancer.

The full property tax bill belongs in that funding discussion. Do not assume a quote includes money for it unless the figures show this.

Read about buying a house before selling alongside the plan for repaying a bridging loan. The sale proceeds and any later tax refund are separate receipts.

For a loan secured on your home, take advice from a mortgage adviser or bridging specialist. Ask how repayment would work if the tax refund had not arrived.

What are the risks if your sale is delayed?

If the loan is secured on your home, your home is at risk. It could be repossessed if you do not repay the loan.

Borrowing costs add up over time. While you wait to sell, you may also be paying for insurance, utilities and upkeep on both properties.

A sale or a new mortgage may not happen as planned. A buyer could withdraw after a survey, or a lender could value a property below the figure your budget uses.

A lower sale price leaves less money after repaying the existing mortgage and selling costs. Test what that would mean for repaying any bridging loan.

The lender's repayment deadline is separate from the tax refund window. A loan may need repaying before the deadline for selling your old home to qualify for a tax refund. An extension cannot be assumed.

A broken chain does not normally count as an exceptional reason to extend the SDLT sale deadline. Ask your conveyancer about your position if the refund window is at risk.

A refund also does not repay the interest, legal costs or other borrowing charges you incurred while owning both homes. Check how bridging loan costs build up when weighing the move.

If your buyer has pulled out, ask the estate agent for a fresh view of the sale price and remaining obstacles. The original offer is no longer a sound basis for the repayment plan.

What should you check before committing to the move?

Ask your current mortgage lender about other options. Explain that you want to buy before your sale completes, rather than assuming an existing mortgage can simply move across.

Consider the cost of waiting, selling first or renting between homes alongside alternatives to bridging finance. Include storage and a further move where relevant.

Free guidance at MoneyHelper can help you understand the wider money decisions involved in moving home.

Before you commit, ask your solicitor or conveyancer to confirm:

• Which property tax applies and whether the higher charge is due.
• The full amount to include in the completion budget.
• Which previous main residence must be sold for a refund.
• The sale deadline, claim deadline and evidence you need.
• Who will submit the claim and check any repayment received.

Keep their written calculation with the completion statement. If the ownership details or purchase plans change, ask them to check it again before you rely on the figures.

Common questions

Last updated 6 November 2026