If you bought a home in Scotland, you did not pay Stamp Duty. Since April 2015 Scotland has taxed property purchases under Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), collected by Revenue Scotland rather than HMRC. The rules, the rate bands, and — crucially — the refund routes are different, so advice written for England does not always apply.
The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS)
The most common LBTT overpayment is the Additional Dwelling Supplement, Scotland's equivalent of the English 3% surcharge. You pay ADS if you buy a new main home before selling your old one. But if you then sell the previous main residence within 36 months, you can reclaim the ADS from Revenue Scotland. That window is longer than the SDLT equivalent, and many buyers simply never claim.
Other grounds
- Uninhabitable at purchase — a property not suitable for use as a dwelling may fall outside residential LBTT rates, assessed against Revenue Scotland guidance.
- Mixed use — a genuine commercial element (a shop, commercially let land) can move the transaction to the lower non-residential LBTT scale.
How LBTT differs from SDLT
The tax is administered by Revenue Scotland, the forms differ, and the reclaim windows differ. If you search generic "stamp duty refund" advice you will get English rules that do not match your transaction. That mismatch is exactly why Scottish buyers overpay and under-claim.
How to claim
You submit the claim to Revenue Scotland with supporting evidence. TaxAppealAgent estimates your specific refund and drafts the reclaim — flat fee, and you keep 100%, unlike firms that take a percentage. Check your LBTT before the 36-month ADS window closes.