Buy a home in Wales and you pay neither Stamp Duty nor LBTT — you pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT), introduced in April 2018 and collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA). It has its own rate bands and, notably, no first-time-buyer relief, which changes what "overpaid" means in Wales compared with England.
Reclaiming the higher rate
Like the rest of the UK, Wales charges a higher residential rate when you buy an additional property before selling your previous main home. If you sell that old home within the WRA's window, you can reclaim the higher-rate element. Because the timetable and forms are WRA-specific, this is easy to miss if you follow England guidance.
Other grounds
- Uninhabitable at purchase — a property not suitable for use as a dwelling may qualify for lower non-residential LTT rates under WRA guidance.
- Mixed use — a genuine commercial element can move the purchase onto the non-residential LTT scale.
Why Wales is different
No first-time-buyer relief, WRA rather than HMRC, and its own band thresholds. Generic UK stamp-duty tools quietly assume English rules, so Welsh buyers get inaccurate estimates. We model LTT separately so the number you see reflects the Welsh regime.
How to claim
The claim goes to the Welsh Revenue Authority with supporting evidence. TaxAppealAgent estimates your refund and drafts the reclaim for a flat fee — you keep 100%. Check your LTT to see if you are owed money.