Overpayment Relief Exclusions: Case D Claims and Tribunal Appeal Determinations

When SDLT overpayment relief is blocked after an appeal

Overpayment relief can help recover SDLT that was paid but not due, but it cannot usually be used to reopen an issue that has already been finally decided in an appeal. This applies where the earlier appeal was decided by the tribunal, or settled by agreement or deemed agreement, if the new claim is based on the same underlying point.

• Overpayment relief is not a second chance to argue the same SDLT issue after an appeal has already determined it.
• The block applies where an assessment was decided on appeal and the later claim is made on the same basis as that appeal.
• A final appeal outcome includes not just a tribunal decision, but also an agreement or deemed agreement under Schedule 10 to the Finance Act 2003.
• The main question is whether the new claim raises the same legal and factual issue, even if it is framed differently or supported by new evidence.
• A genuinely different ground may still need separate analysis, depending on exactly what was decided in the earlier appeal.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

When overpayment relief is blocked because the same SDLT issue was already decided on appeal

This page explains a narrow but important limit on SDLT overpayment relief. If the tax point you now want to raise has already been decided in an appeal, you cannot usually use overpayment relief to reopen it. In short, once the tribunal, or an agreed appeal outcome, has finally determined that issue, that determination stands.

What this rule is about

Overpayment relief is a mechanism for recovering SDLT that was paid but was not actually due. But it is not a second chance to argue a point that has already been litigated or settled through the appeal process.

The rule covered here is aimed at finality. Tax disputes need an end point. If a taxpayer appealed an assessment and the relevant issue was decided, the same issue cannot then be repackaged as an overpayment relief claim.

What the official source says

The official material says that overpayment relief is not available where:

• an assessment has been determined on appeal by the tribunal, and
• the overpayment relief claim is made on the same basis as that appeal.

In that situation, the tribunal’s determination is final.

The same applies where the appeal did not end in a tribunal decision after a hearing, but was instead determined:

• by agreement, or
• by a deemed agreement under paragraph 37 of Schedule 10 to Finance Act 2003.

Those outcomes are also treated as final for this purpose.

What this means in practice

If you have already challenged an SDLT assessment through the appeal process, you need to ask whether the point you now want to make has already been determined there.

If the answer is yes, an overpayment relief claim will not normally help. The rule is not limited to cases where the wording of the new claim is identical. The real question is whether the claim is being made on the same basis as the appeal.

That matters because taxpayers sometimes discover a different way of presenting the same argument after an appeal has finished. This rule prevents overpayment relief from being used to relitigate the same substantive point.

It also matters in agreed cases. A taxpayer may assume that only a formal tribunal judgment has this kind of final effect. The source material makes clear that an appeal outcome reached by agreement, including a deemed agreement under the statutory procedure, can also block a later overpayment relief claim on the same basis.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to approach this is to work through four questions.

• Was there an assessment?
• Was that assessment determined on appeal?
• Was the determination made by the tribunal, by agreement, or by deemed agreement under the relevant statutory procedure?
• Is the overpayment relief claim based on the same underlying point as the appeal?

The last question is usually the most important. You need to compare the substance of the earlier appeal with the substance of the new claim. Look at:

• what legal issue was in dispute,
• what factual basis was relied on,
• what conclusion the taxpayer was asking for, and
• whether the new claim is genuinely different, or just a fresh attempt to reach the same result.

If the earlier appeal decided one issue, that does not automatically prevent every later overpayment relief claim. The block applies where the later claim is on the same basis. A genuinely different ground may need separate analysis, but that conclusion would depend on the facts and on exactly what was determined before.

Example

Illustration: a taxpayer appeals an SDLT assessment, arguing that a particular relief should have applied to the transaction. The appeal is resolved and that point is determined, either by the tribunal or by an agreed appeal outcome. Later, the taxpayer submits an overpayment relief claim saying that too much SDLT was paid because that same relief should have applied. On the source material, overpayment relief would not be available because the claim is being made on the same basis as the issue already determined on appeal.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The difficult part is often deciding what counts as the same basis.

A taxpayer may say the overpayment relief claim is different because it uses new evidence, better legal drafting, or a slightly different argument. But if the underlying issue is materially the same as the one already determined, the finality rule may still apply.

Another practical difficulty is identifying exactly what was determined where an appeal ended by agreement rather than a full tribunal decision. In those cases, the scope of the agreed outcome may need careful reading. The source material is clear that agreed and deemed-agreed outcomes can be final, but in practice there may still be room for dispute about what point was actually settled.

This is also a good example of the difference between an appeal route and a repayment route. Overpayment relief is not a general correction mechanism for any historic SDLT position. Where the appeal system has already produced a final determination on the same point, that route has effectively been exhausted.

Key takeaways

• You cannot usually use overpayment relief to reopen an SDLT issue that has already been determined on appeal.
• This applies not only to tribunal decisions, but also to appeal outcomes reached by agreement or deemed agreement under Schedule 10 FA 2003.
• The critical question is whether the new claim is on the same basis as the earlier appeal.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Overpayment Relief Exclusions: Case D Claims and Tribunal Appeal Determinations

View all HMRC SDLT Guidance Pages Here