Do I get interest on an ADS repayment?

Yes. Revenue Scotland repays ADS with interest on top of the 8% supplement itself. Its separate guidance on repayment interest sets out how the interest is calculated.

Can I reclaim ADS if I let out my old home instead of selling it?

No. The reclaim depends on selling or otherwise disposing of your previous main residence within 36 months. If you keep it as a rental, the ADS on your new home stays paid.

Can a company reclaim ADS?

No. The replacement of main residence rules only apply to individuals replacing the home they live in. Companies pay ADS on residential purchases and cannot use this relief.

Is standard LBTT refunded as well?

No. Only the Additional Dwelling Supplement is repaid. The standard LBTT you paid on the new home is not affected by selling your old one.

Can You Reclaim the Additional Dwelling Supplement in Scotland?

Hallway of an Edinburgh tenement flat on moving day with boxes stacked by the front door

Last reviewed: 27 October 2026Reading time: 8 minutes

Yes, but only in one situation. You can reclaim the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) if you paid it when buying a new main home, and you then sell your previous main home within 36 months of that purchase. Revenue Scotland repays the full 8% with interest.

You cannot reclaim ADS paid on a buy to let. Selling another rental property does not trigger a repayment, because the rule only covers people replacing the home they live in.

When ADS Can Be Reclaimed

ADS is charged at 8% of the whole purchase price when you buy a home in Scotland while already owning another residential property anywhere in the world. Most landlords pay it on every rental purchase. The reclaim rule exists for a different group: people who buy their next home before they have managed to sell their last one.

According to the Scottish Government, ADS can be reclaimed when all three of these conditions are met:

The previous main residence is sold within 36 months of buying the new property.
The property you sold was your only or main residence at some point in the 36 months before you bought the new one.
You have lived in the new property, the one you paid ADS on, as your main residence.

If you are a landlord, owning rental flats does not stop you from using this rule. What matters is that you are replacing your own main home. The rental properties are ignored for the purpose of the reclaim, although they are the reason ADS was charged in the first place.

The 36-Month Rule and the Old 18-Month Rule

The time limits doubled on 1 April 2024. Before that date, you had 18 months to sell your old home. Which rule applies depends on the effective date of your purchase, which is usually the date of entry when you got the keys.

Effective date of your new home purchase	Time to sell your previous main home	Look-back for having lived there
Before 1 April 2024	18 months	18 months
On or after 1 April 2024	36 months	36 months

The longer limit was not applied backwards. If you bought in early 2023 and sold your old home 19 months later, you are outside the old 18-month window and cannot reclaim, even though the sale happened after the rules changed.

The Same Rule Works in Reverse

The 36-month rule also works the other way round. If you sell your main home first and buy your next one later, no ADS is charged at all, as long as the purchase happens within 36 months of the sale and you lived in the old home during that period.

This matters for landlords who move into rented accommodation between homes. You can sell your home, rent for up to three years and then buy your next main residence without paying ADS, even if you still own rental flats throughout. If you buy one day too late, the full 8% applies and there is no way to reclaim it.

Example 1: Buying before selling

Fiona lives in a flat in Leith and owns one buy to let in Glasgow. She buys a new main home for £320,000 before her flat has sold.

LBTT: £5,600 (2% on £105,000 plus 5% on £70,000)
ADS at 8%: £25,600
Total tax on completion: £31,200

Her Leith flat sells 14 months later. Because the sale is within 36 months of her purchase, she can reclaim the £25,600 ADS, plus interest. The £5,600 standard LBTT is not refundable.

Example 2: Selling before buying

Calum sells his house in Stirling and rents for two and a half years while he decides where to settle. He keeps two rental flats in Dundee throughout.

He buys a new main home 30 months after selling. Because he sold his previous main residence within the 36 months before the new purchase, and lived in it during that time, no ADS is due on the new home. He pays standard LBTT only.

Example 3: A buy to let purchase

Aisha buys a third rental flat for £150,000 and pays £12,000 ADS. A year later she sells one of her other rental flats.

This does not create a reclaim. Neither property was her main residence, so the ADS on the buy to let stays paid.

Joint Buyers, Couples and Small Interests

Married couples, civil partners and cohabiting couples are treated as one unit for ADS. If either of you owns a property, both of you are treated as owning it. If you are replacing a main home you shared, the reclaim works for the couple. Problems can arise when a couple buys a new home but the old home was owned by only one of them, or when one partner owns a separate flat. Take advice from your solicitor before you conclude missives if your situation is not straightforward.

Some smaller interests are ignored altogether. ADS does not apply if the price is under £40,000, if the other property you own is worth under £40,000, or if your share of a jointly owned property is worth under £40,000.

How to Make a Claim

How you claim depends on who submits it:

Your original solicitor can amend the LBTT return they filed, through Revenue Scotland's online system (SETS).
A different solicitor completes the ADS repayment claim form (RS-0005) and emails it to Revenue Scotland at lbtt@revenue.scot.
You can claim yourself using Revenue Scotland's online repayment claim. Paper claims sent by post are no longer accepted.

Revenue Scotland aims to process repayments within 10 working days of receiving everything it needs, and it pays interest on the amount repaid.

Evidence to have ready

If you claim more than 12 months after filing the original return, you will need proof of the sale, such as a copy of the disposition, Land Register documents or a letter from your solicitor stating the date of sale. You also need proof that everyone who bought the new home lived in the old one as their main residence, such as a council tax bill, utility bill or bank statement.

What If You Cannot Sell in Time?

There is currently no general discretion to extend the 36 months. If your old home is still unsold when the window closes, the ADS is not repayable.

Taxpayers have often argued that this is unfair, for example where a sale fell through at the last minute. The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland has consistently said it cannot take fairness into account and must apply the law as written.

The Scottish Government's LBTT review, published in March 2026, looked at whether exceptional circumstances should be recognised. It considered situations like cladding problems, RAAC, serious illness, chain collapses and domestic abuse. Until the law changes, the safest approach is to market your old home early and plan for the possibility that you do not get the 8% back.

Common Mistakes

Assuming a buy to let can be refunded. It cannot, however the purchase is structured.
Selling the wrong property. The property you sell must have been your main residence, not a rental flat or holiday home.
Not moving in. You must live in the new home as your main residence for the reclaim to work.
Letting the old home first. If you rent out your old home after moving, and then sell it more than 36 months after buying the new one, the reclaim is lost.
Relying on the old 18-month figure. Some older guidance still quotes 18 months. That limit only applies to purchases with an effective date before 1 April 2024.