diff --git a/src/app/api/referrals/route.dedupe.test.ts b/src/app/api/referrals/route.dedupe.test.ts
index 8d32d4c5..05323f34 100644
--- a/src/app/api/referrals/route.dedupe.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/referrals/route.dedupe.test.ts
@@ -144,4 +144,113 @@ describe("POST /api/referrals duplicate invite handling", () => {
       },
     ]);
   });
+
+  it("only counts new recipients toward the hourly invite limit", async () => {
+    const existingInviteLookup = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      data: [{ referred_email: "existing@test.com" }],
+      error: null,
+    });
+    mocks.mockCreateServiceClient.mockReturnValue({
+      from: vi.fn(() => ({
+        select: vi.fn(() => ({
+          eq: vi.fn(() => ({
+            gte: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ count: 9, error: null }),
+            in: existingInviteLookup,
+          })),
+        })),
+      })),
+    });
+
+    const insertReferrals = vi.fn().mockReturnValue({
+      select: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+        data: [{ id: "ref1", referred_email: "new@test.com", status: "pending" }],
+        error: null,
+      }),
+    });
+    const authSupabase = {
+      from: vi.fn((table: string) => {
+        if (table === "profiles") {
+          return {
+            select: vi.fn(() => ({
+              eq: vi.fn(() => ({
+                single: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+                  data: {
+                    referral_code: "testuser",
+                    username: "testuser",
+                    full_name: "Test User",
+                  },
+                  error: null,
+                }),
+              })),
+            })),
+          };
+        }
+
+        if (table === "referrals") {
+          return { insert: insertReferrals };
+        }
+
+        return {};
+      }),
+    };
+    mocks.mockGetAuthContext.mockResolvedValue({
+      user: { id: "user1" },
+      supabase: authSupabase,
+    });
+
+    const res = await POST(
+      makePostRequest({ emails: ["existing@test.com", "new@test.com"] })
+    );
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(existingInviteLookup).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "referred_email",
+      ["existing@test.com", "new@test.com"]
+    );
+    expect(mocks.mockSendEmail).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(mocks.mockSendEmail).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      to: "new@test.com",
+      subject: "Join ugig.net",
+      html: "<p>Join</p>",
+      text: "Join",
+    });
+    expect(insertReferrals).toHaveBeenCalledWith([
+      {
+        referrer_id: "user1",
+        referred_email: "new@test.com",
+        referral_code: "testuser",
+        status: "pending",
+      },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("does not send invites when the existing-recipient lookup fails", async () => {
+    const existingInviteLookup = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      data: null,
+      error: { message: "database unavailable" },
+    });
+    mocks.mockCreateServiceClient.mockReturnValue({
+      from: vi.fn(() => ({
+        select: vi.fn(() => ({
+          eq: vi.fn(() => ({
+            in: existingInviteLookup,
+          })),
+        })),
+      })),
+    });
+    mocks.mockGetAuthContext.mockResolvedValue({
+      user: { id: "user1" },
+      supabase: { from: vi.fn() },
+    });
+
+    const res = await POST(
+      makePostRequest({ emails: ["friend@test.com"] })
+    );
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(500);
+    await expect(res.json()).resolves.toEqual({
+      error: "Failed to check existing invitations",
+    });
+    expect(mocks.mockSendEmail).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts b/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts
index 6a27788a..d8545141 100644
--- a/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/referrals/route.ts
@@ -100,9 +100,34 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       );
     }
 
-    // Spam throttling: max 50 invites per day, max 10 per hour
-    // Only count valid emails toward rate limits (#143)
     const svc = createServiceClient();
+
+    // Prevent duplicate invites to the same email before calculating quota usage.
+    const { data: existingInvites, error: existingInvitesError } = await (svc as AnySupabase)
+      .from("referrals")
+      .select("referred_email")
+      .eq("referrer_id", user.id)
+      .in("referred_email", validEmails);
+
+    if (existingInvitesError) {
+      return NextResponse.json(
+        { error: "Failed to check existing invitations" },
+        { status: 500 }
+      );
+    }
+
+    const alreadyInvited = new Set((existingInvites || []).map((r: any) => r.referred_email));
+    const newValidEmails = validEmails.filter((e: string) => !alreadyInvited.has(e));
+
+    if (newValidEmails.length === 0) {
+      return NextResponse.json(
+        { error: "All these emails have already been invited" },
+        { status: 400 }
+      );
+    }
+
+    // Spam throttling: max 50 invites per day, max 10 per hour.
+    // Existing recipients do not consume another invite slot.
     const oneHourAgo = new Date(Date.now() - 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();
     const oneDayAgo = new Date(Date.now() - 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();
 
@@ -112,7 +137,7 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       .eq("referrer_id", user.id)
       .gte("created_at", oneHourAgo);
 
-    if ((hourlyCount ?? 0) + validEmails.length > 10) {
+    if ((hourlyCount ?? 0) + newValidEmails.length > 10) {
       return NextResponse.json(
         { error: "Too many invites. Max 10 per hour." },
         { status: 429 }
@@ -125,22 +150,13 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       .eq("referrer_id", user.id)
       .gte("created_at", oneDayAgo);
 
-    if ((dailyCount ?? 0) + validEmails.length > 50) {
+    if ((dailyCount ?? 0) + newValidEmails.length > 50) {
       return NextResponse.json(
         { error: "Daily invite limit reached. Max 50 per day." },
         { status: 429 }
       );
     }
 
-    // Prevent duplicate invites to same email
-    const { data: existingInvites } = await (svc as AnySupabase)
-      .from("referrals")
-      .select("referred_email")
-      .eq("referrer_id", user.id)
-      .in("referred_email", validEmails);
-
-    const alreadyInvited = new Set((existingInvites || []).map((r: any) => r.referred_email));
-
     // Get user's referral code
     const { data: profile } = await (supabase as any)
       .from("profiles")
@@ -155,16 +171,6 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
     const referralCode = profile.referral_code || profile.username;
     const inviterName = profile.full_name || profile.username || "Someone";
 
-    // Filter valid emails that aren't already invited (#143)
-    const newValidEmails = validEmails.filter((e: string) => !alreadyInvited.has(e));
-
-    if (newValidEmails.length === 0) {
-      return NextResponse.json(
-        { error: "All these emails have already been invited" },
-        { status: 400 }
-      );
-    }
-
     // Send emails BEFORE inserting into DB to avoid partial-state issues
     const emailContent = referralInviteEmail({ inviterName, referralCode });
     const emailResults = await Promise.all(