HM Revenue and Customs and independent tax experts have warned homeowners against firms offering speculative stamp duty refunds on property contents after cold-calling recent buyers.
The warning follows reports from new property owners receiving unsolicited mail promising thousands of pounds in tax rebates on moveable household items. Advisers caution that aggressive claims could leave taxpayers liable for repaying entire refunds alongside interest and penalty charges.
Unsolicited letters targeting recent home buyers
The alert was prompted after a homeowner who moved house in March 2026 and paid a Stamp Duty Land Tax bill of more than £50,000 received an unexpected envelope marked 'property tax adjustment - important information enclosed'. The wording caused mild panic before opening.
Inside was a letter printed on expensive paper promoting the website sdlttax.com with the headline: "Most people pay too much stamp duty. Find out why and how to get it back."
The firm knew the exact purchase date and claimed stamp duty applies solely to land and buildings rather than contents.
"Yet in every purchase, there are contents on which stamp duty should not be paid," the letter stated. "If you paid stamp duty on the full purchase price, you paid too much, and could claim a refund. You'll normally get your money back within six weeks. Our average refund is worth thousands of pounds."
The pitch claimed SDLT Tax had obtained thousands of refunds worth tens of millions of pounds since 2020. It offered a 45-minute inspector survey and stated the buyer had until March 2027 to establish whether tax was overpaid.
Sceptical of the cold contact, the buyer refused to scan an enclosed QR code. Small print showed SDLT Tax is the trading name of MJS Tax Advisory Limited, based in Wiltshire with a London phone number.
The firm claimed regulation by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and offered a no-refund, no-fee service, but did not state its success fee.
The property included high-end carpets, blinds, curtains, light fittings, a freestanding Rangemaster cooker worth £4,500 new, and freestanding laundry appliances worth £1,500. After seeking guidance from This is Money, the buyer received a similar letter from another firm.
Rules on stamp duty relief for chattels
Ed Magnus of This is Money noted the pitch sounds too good to be true, adding that buyers can easily claim refunds online directly from HMRC and keep the full amount.
SDLT is charged on land and buildings, not contents. Buyers can amend returns within 12 months of the filing deadline or submit an overpayment relief claim within four years after that.
Exempt chattels include carpets, curtains, blinds, light shades, freestanding furniture, and freestanding kitchen appliances. Amounts properly attributed to them do not attract stamp duty.
However, HMRC requires evidence from the conveyancing process proving a separate negotiation took place, such as items being listed and priced in the sale contract. Showing furnishings were present when sold is not sufficient.
HMRC does not regard fitted kitchen units, cupboards, sinks, agas, wall mounted ovens, fitted bathroom sanitary ware, central heating, or intruder alarms as chattels.
Risks of HM Revenue and Customs clawbacks
Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates Ltd warned that many people receiving such letters end up losing significant amounts of money.
"First, the values must be realistic secondhand values, reflecting age and condition, not what those items cost new," Neidle said. "Used curtains, even fancy ones, can be worth surprisingly little. Second, these days HMRC expects evidence from the original purchase that a genuine part of the price was attributable to the contents. If you don't have that evidence, this becomes very high risk."
Firms typically charge 20 per cent or more, taking £2,000 from a £10,000 refund and giving them an incentive to maximise claims.
If HMRC investigates months or years later, the homeowner must repay the entire £10,000 refund plus interest and penalties, despite receiving only £8,000.
"Whether you can recover the fee or obtain help defending the claim depends on the firm's terms and whether it is still around," Neidle said. "Often, these firms are unregulated, fly-by-night outfits and will have happily disappeared with their fees. I would be extremely cautious and only proceed if you have advice in writing from a solicitor or qualified tax adviser with stamp duty expertise."
Neidle advised checking professional indemnity insurance, noting: "Solicitors or chartered accountants, great. Surveyors or plumbers, not so much."
Professional warnings and official guidance
Mark Barrett of Property Tax Advice Ltd praised the buyer's hesitation, noting HMRC warned taxpayers as long ago as July 2025 about operators offering SDLT and capital allowance rebates.
Barrett said the Finance Act 2003 permits apportionment where price is paid partly for chattels, provided contemporaneous conveyancing evidence shows a genuine separate negotiation. Simply showing chattels were in the property is insufficient.
Barrett advised using an independent property specialist accountant on a fixed, pre-agreed fee covered by professional indemnity insurance.
An HMRC spokesperson said: "We urge homebuyers to be cautious of repayment agents offering to make SDLT repayment claims for them in return for a fee. If the claim is inaccurate, they may need to repay the SDLT in full, including any agent fees, interest and a potential penalty charge."
Response from SDLT Tax and Land Registry data
Michael Brownsdon, director of SDLT Tax, said buyers can claim without an adviser, but valuing contents at the purchase date and defending figures to HMRC is specialist work.
Brownsdon said the firm uses HM Land Registry price-paid data to find purchase dates. "We write to recent buyers using HM Land Registry's publicly available price-paid data, which is how we know the purchase date," he said. "We take the reader's point about the envelope wording and are reviewing it."
Brownsdon added that SDLT Tax charges 25 per cent plus VAT, agreed in writing beforehand, with no fee if no refund is won. He said contents must be reasonably valued, with the agreed fittings and contents form serving as the starting point.
