Buying with a Partner: Who Pays the Stamp Duty?

When two people buy a property together, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) can quickly get complicated - especially if one of you already owns another property.

At SCA Tax, we help clients both before completion (to ensure the correct SDLT is paid) and after completion (to recover overpaid tax through a refund claim).

Who Pays Stamp Duty When Buying Together?

Stamp Duty applies to the total purchase price, not to each individual’s share.

HMRC treats all named buyers as jointly responsible for paying the correct amount of SDLT.

Your solicitor usually submits the SDLT return on completion, but it’s still your responsibility as the buyer to make sure the amount is right.

That’s where SCA Tax’s pre-completion advice can help - ensuring you don’t overpay or miss reliefs before the transaction completes.

What If One Buyer Already Owns a Property?

If one of you owns another property, the 5% higher rate Stamp Duty surcharge may apply to the entire purchase - even if one of you is a first-time buyer.

 This rule often catches couples out, resulting in unnecessary overpayments.

However, if the previous home is sold within 36 months, you may qualify for a Stamp Duty refund of that surcharge.

Our experts can review your case and, if eligible, submit the SDLT reclaim directly to HMRC.

Common Scenarios Where Couples Overpay

We regularly identify refunds for buyers who:

• Bought jointly but were wrongly charged the 5% surcharge
• Paid residential rates on a property that should have been classed differently
• Missed legitimate reliefs because their solicitor didn’t provide SDLT advice

If you’ve bought with a partner in the last four years, you could be owed a refund worth thousands of pounds.

How SCA Tax Can Help

We offer two core SDLT services for joint buyers:

• Pre-Completion SDLT Advice - Get expert tax guidance before completion to make sure your solicitor submits the correct SDLT amount.
• Stamp Duty Refunds - If you’ve already paid too much, we’ll review your case and recover your overpaid tax from HMRC.