£127m in stamp duty returned

THE Government has handed back £127million stamp duty to 10,700 home owners – at an average cost of £11,869, the HMRC revealed yesterday.

It has returned the money to people who overpaid following the introduction of the “second property surcharge” in April 2016. An additional 3 per cent surcharge on second properties was introduced last year as a measure aimed to slow the growth of buy-to-let.

But it quickly drew criticism, including from those home-movers who buy their next property before selling their current one.

Under a “replacement main residence” rule, people doing this must pay the higher stamp duty rate up front.