What to Do if Your Conveyancer Fails to Pay Property Tax

Stamp Duty Land Tax is a government tax you pay if the price of the property you are buying is above a minimum amount, and the percentage varies with the value of the property on a sliding scale¹. In England and Northern Ireland it must be paid within 14 days of completion, and it is usually handled by your solicitor². As the buyer, you have 14 days to pay any stamp duty you owe³.

That 14-day window is the whole problem. If your conveyancer files the return late, or takes your money and does not send it on, HMRC charges a late filing penalty and interest, and the person HMRC pursues is you, not the conveyancer⁴. The tax is your liability from the moment of completion, whatever arrangement you have with the firm handling the paperwork.

This page sets out what the deadline actually is, who is responsible when it is missed, what HMRC charges, how to check whether the return was filed and pay HMRC yourself, and where the rules differ in Scotland and Wales.

Stamp Duty is due within 14 days of completion

The deadline runs from the effective date of the transaction, which is normally completion. You need to send your return within 14 days of that date, even if you do not owe any tax⁵. Stamp duty is payable at the point of completion, so the clock starts the day you get the keys⁸.

Filing is not optional just because the sum comes to nothing. A return is required even where no Stamp Duty is payable, and the return generates an 11-character unique transaction reference number⁶. That reference is the proof the return exists, and it is the first thing a buyer can ask their conveyancer for if they are worried.

There are a small number of exclusions. One example given in HMRC's guidance is where the property was left to you in a will⁵.

If you are not represented by a conveyancer or solicitor, you must use the SDLT1 paper return and send it to HMRC by post⁴. Most buyers are represented, and the conveyancer files online on their behalf, but the legal duty to file and pay stays with the buyer.

Who is responsible when a conveyancer misses the payment

The tax is yours. HMRC's guidance is addressed to the buyer, and the penalty for a late return is charged to the person who should have filed it⁴. A conveyancer who forgets, or who goes out of business between completion and the filing date, does not take that liability with them.

That does not leave a buyer without a route to recover money a firm has cost them. Where a payment service provider causes a delay, the Payment Services Regulations 2017 make the provider liable to its payment service user for any charges for which the user is responsible and any interest the user must pay as a consequence of that delay, irrespective of whether the payment order is ultimately executed⁹. That provision is about payment services, not conveyancing, so whether it applies to money held by a solicitor's client account depends on how the payment was made and by whom.

Where you paid for a service by credit card, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 can make the finance or card provider as responsible as the trader for a breach of contract or misrepresentation¹⁰. The same rule is set out in consumer guidance for Wales¹¹. This is a route that depends on how the conveyancing fee was paid and on the amount, and it does not apply to a payment made by debit card or bank transfer.

A claim against the conveyancer directly is a separate matter from anything HMRC does. Consumer law gives remedies where a service is not carried out with reasonable care and skill, and the routes for pursuing that are set out in complaining when buying a home goes wrong.

Penalties and interest from HMRC for late payment

HMRC charges a late filing penalty and interest if your SDLT return is not filed on time⁴. The penalty structure for late returns and late payment is published in detail for Self Assessment, and the same shape of charges applies across HMRC's deadlines.

Interest runs on top of the penalties. Where a payment date has passed, HMRC will charge interest on the late payment¹⁴. If you miss a deadline to send HMRC information, you may also be charged a penalty¹⁵.

The charges are calculated on the tax that was due, not on the conveyancer's fee, so a missed filing on a property with a large Stamp Duty bill produces a larger penalty than one on a small bill. Interest continues to accrue until the tax is paid.

How to check the return was filed and pay HMRC yourself

Start by asking your conveyancer, in writing, for the unique transaction reference number. That 11-character code is issued when the return is filed, and its absence is the clearest sign that nothing has been sent⁶. If you filed the return yourself because you were not represented, you would have used the SDLT1 paper return and posted it to HMRC⁴.

If you cannot get a straight answer, contact HMRC and ask them to check whether a return has been received for the property¹⁴. HMRC will not send you a tax return or notify you to complete one if you are not registered for the relevant tax, so silence from HMRC is not evidence that everything is in order¹⁷.

Once you know the position, you can pay HMRC directly. The accepted methods are the HMRC app, online or telephone banking, CHAPS, debit card online, at your bank or building society, Bacs, Direct Debit, or cheque through the post¹². You can no longer pay HMRC at the Post Office or by credit card¹².

If a penalty has already been charged, HMRC's refund process is not the route to challenge it. That process covers repayments where you were eligible for a relief or exemption you did not claim on your original SDLT return¹⁸. It also carries a sting: if you receive a repayment where the amount you claimed was not due, you must pay it back along with any interest due, and even after a repayment has been made HMRC has not agreed that the refund is due¹⁸.

What happens if the 14-day deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday

HMRC's rule for payments is that if the payment deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the payment must reach HMRC on the last working day before that deadline, unless you are paying by Faster Payments¹⁹. In practice that means the money needs to leave earlier, not later.

The same principle appears in other deadline rules. Where a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday, the period ends on the next working day²⁰. That is the general approach to time limits, and it is worth checking the specific rule that applies to your filing rather than assuming an extension.

For a completion on a Friday, the 14-day window will usually end on a Friday too, so the weekend rule rarely bites. It matters most around bank holidays, when a completion just before a long weekend can leave fewer working days than the calendar suggests.

Where this does not apply: Scotland, Wales and exempt purchases

Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England and Northern Ireland only⁷. Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and Wales has Land Transaction Tax. A purchase in Scotland or Wales falls outside the SDLT rules, deadlines and penalties described on this page, and is governed instead by the guidance for the tax that applies there.

The higher rates for additional properties also work differently across the nations. The surcharge does not apply to purchases of land or buildings in Scotland or Wales²¹, and overseas-based buyers of residential properties in Wales and Scotland do not pay a surcharge²². The relevant legislation states expressly that it does not apply to Scotland²³.

Some purchases are exempt from SDLT altogether. Where a property was left to you in a will, for example, the return rules differ⁵. Investment companies based outside the UK are another case: investors do not have to pay stamp duty when buying their shares²⁴.

If you are buying in Scotland, the equivalent filing and payment deadlines are covered in Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and for Wales in Land Transaction Tax. The general buying process, including where conveyancing sits in it, is set out in conveyancing: the legal work when you buy a home.

Is Stamp Duty payment normally included in conveyancing fees?

No. The tax and the conveyancer's fee are separate. Conveyancing is estimated at around £1,050 in a typical buying cost breakdown², and that figure is the legal work, not the tax. Stamp Duty is a government tax you pay if the price of the property is above a minimum amount, and the percentage varies with the value of the property on a sliding scale¹.

Some lenders will pay the standard legal fees on your behalf, but if you choose your own solicitor or your circumstances are not standard, that arrangement may not apply²⁰. Even where a lender covers the legal fee, the Stamp Duty itself remains your liability.

A conveyancer's role includes telling you how much Stamp Duty you need to pay¹⁷. That is advice about the amount, not a promise to pay it for you. The money normally moves through the conveyancer's client account on completion, which is why a firm's failure to pass it on is so disruptive: the buyer has already parted with the funds.

Where to get help

If a penalty or interest charge has been raised and you cannot pay it, free and impartial help is available. TaxAid provides advice for people struggling with a tax debt¹⁴. StepChange and National Debtline offer free debt advice, and the MoneyHelper service provides free guidance on money problems.

If your complaint is about the conveyancer's conduct rather than the tax, the routes are set out in complaining when buying a home goes wrong. If you are worried that a payment you made has been intercepted, see conveyancing fraud.