Additional 3% rate raises more than £2bn

The additional 3% stamp duty land tax charge aimed at people buying second homes or buy-to-let properties raised £2.05bn in 2017 according to the government’s quarterly stamp duty statistics.

However many ordinary homeowners who encounter delays selling their old homes have found themselves liable for the extra 3% SDLT. This happens when the property cannot be sold before the new one is purchased. The measures include a repayment scheme if the first home is sold within three years but the extra tax has to be paid upfront and reclaimed later.

During 2017 more than 15 700 homeowners had to reclaim additional tax totalling £194m due to delays with the first property sale increasing their initial cost burden before HMRC repaid the tax.

George Bull senior tax partner at RSM said: ‘The levels of tax revenues generated from the extra 3% duty on...