Stamp Duty Land Tax: rates, thresholds and how much you pay
Stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland starts at £125,000 and is charged in bands: 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5m, 12% above £1.5m. First-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000 on homes up to £500,000. Buying an additional property adds 5 percentage points to every band. Rates in force from 1 April 2025, checked 12 September 2026.
Work out your own bill
Type a price and say who is buying. The bar cuts the price into its bands.
Stamp duty to pay
£5,000
1.67% of the price, £305,000 in total
- Purchase price
- £300,000
- Stamp duty (home mover)
- £5,000
- Total to find
- £305,000
Prices people look up most
Rates in force now
Each portion of the price is taxed at the rate for its band. An additional residential property adds 5 percentage points to every band from the first pound, once the price reaches £40,000. A buyer who is not UK resident adds 2 percentage points on top of that.
| Portion of the price | Standard | Additional property | Non-UK resident | Additional and non-UK resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 5% | 2% | 7% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 7% | 4% | 9% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% | 10% | 7% | 12% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% | 15% | 12% | 17% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% | 17% | 14% | 19% |
SDLT rates in force from 1 April 2025, checked 12 September 2026.
First-time buyers
Available on purchases up to £500,000. Above that price the relief does not taper, it stops, and the ordinary rates apply to the whole price.
| Portion of the price | First-time buyer |
|---|---|
| Up to £300,000 | 0% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% |
How stamp duty is worked out
It works like income tax bands, not like a flat rate
This is the one thing worth understanding about stamp duty. Each portion of the purchase price is taxed at the rate for the band it falls in, and only the part above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate. The effective rate on the whole price is therefore always lower than the top band the price reaches.
Nothing up to £125,000, then each band in turn: 2% on the portion up to £250,000, 5% on the portion up to £925,000, 10% on the portion up to £1,500,000, 12% on anything above £1,500,000.
Because of that, a price slightly over a threshold pays slightly more tax, not dramatically more. Crossing a band boundary does not re-tax the price below it.
Who pays it, and on what
The buyer pays stamp duty, not the seller, and it is charged on the consideration for the purchase rather than on a valuation. These figures cover a residential freehold bought outright by an individual.
Leases, mixed-use and non-residential property, purchases by companies, linked transactions and purchases of several dwellings at once all follow different rules that this calculator does not model. If your purchase is one of those, the figures here will not be your figures.
A commercial element can change the classification
A property with any commercial part, a flat above a shop, a house with a surgery attached, a farmhouse with agricultural buildings, may be mixed-use or non-residential rather than residential. Those categories are taxed under a different rate table, and the additional-property charge does not apply to them at all.
That makes classification worth checking rather than assuming, because it is one of the few places where the answer can be lower than the residential figure on this page. This calculator models residential rates only, so ask your conveyancer to review the classification and use the official rates for the category they settle on.
When and how you pay
The completion date decides the rate, not the exchange date
If the rates change between exchanging contracts and completing, the rate that applies is the one in force on the completion date. Exchanging under one set of rates does not lock them in.
Every figure on this site is worked out from the rule set in force on the day, which is why a rate change here is a new rule set rather than an edit to the copy. If your completion straddles an announced change, ask your conveyancer to confirm which rates they will file under.
The return and the payment are due within 14 days
You have 14 days from completion to file the stamp duty return and pay the tax. Not 14 days from exchange, and not 14 days from moving in: 14 days from the date the sale legally completes.
In practice your solicitor or conveyancer files the return and pays on your behalf on the day of completion, then recovers it from the completion funds. It is worth confirming who is filing before you exchange, because the deadline is short and missing it means penalties and interest.
A return is needed even when no tax is due
A residential purchase at or above £40,000 is notifiable, so the return has to be filed even when the bill is nothing. A first-time buyer paying no tax still files.
If you paid the higher rates and then sold your old home
Buying before selling means paying the higher rates up front. Once the previous main home sells, within 3 years of the new purchase, the higher-rate part comes back. The claim has to reach HMRC by the later of 12 months after that sale and 12 months after the filing date of the return on the new home, and nobody makes it for you.
Scotland and Wales
Scotland and Wales have their own taxes
Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England and Northern Ireland only. A purchase in Scotland pays Land and Buildings Transaction Tax to Revenue Scotland and a purchase in Wales pays Land Transaction Tax to the Welsh Revenue Authority, each with its own bands, its own thresholds and its own additional-property charge. Do not use the rates on this page to estimate either of them.
Who is buying
The bands are the same for everyone. What changes the bill is who is buying and what else they own.
- First-time buyers
Nothing up to £300,000
The relief, the £500,000 cliff edge and who qualifies.
- Second home and buy-to-let
5 percentage points on every band
The higher rates, the £40,000 floor and when they do not apply.
- Reclaiming the surcharge
The higher-rate part comes back once the old home sells
What comes back once your previous main residence sells, and the deadline for asking.
Other kinds of purchase
Commercial property, a limited company and shared ownership each follow their own rules, with their own calculator.
- Commercial and mixed-use property
Nothing up to £150,000, then 2% and 5%
The non-residential rates, leases and rent, and what counts as mixed use.
- Buying through a limited company
17% of the whole price above £500,000
The flat rate, the reliefs that remove it, and companies based outside the UK.
- Shared ownership
Pay once on the market value, or in stages on your share
Both routes, and first-time buyer relief on homes up to £500,000.
Stamp duty by property price
Every price with its own page, grouped by the band it falls in. The figure beside each one is what a home mover pays.
Up to £125,000
£125,001 to £250,000
£250,001 to £500,000
£500,001 to £925,000
£925,001 to £1,500,000
Above £1,500,000
Stamp duty rates in past years
What the rates were in each calendar year, the dates they changed and what a home cost then.
Stamp duty questions people ask
What is stamp duty and who pays it?
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland. The buyer pays it, not the seller, and the return and payment are due within 14 days of completion. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) instead and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT); the rates and thresholds differ in all three nations.
How much is stamp duty on a home you are moving to?
Nothing on the first £125,000, then each portion of the price is taxed at its own band rate, rising to 12% on the portion above £1,500,000. Nothing is charged at a single flat rate on the whole price, so the effective rate is always lower than the top band you reach. These rates have been in force since 1 April 2025.
Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty?
First-time buyers pay nothing on the first £300,000 of the price, then 5% on the portion above it. The relief stops completely above £500,000: at £500,001 the ordinary rates apply to the whole price, which is a cliff rather than a taper. To qualify, you and anyone buying with you must never have owned a home anywhere in the world, including an inherited share or a property owned abroad.
How much extra is stamp duty on a second home or buy-to-let?
An additional residential property is taxed at 5 percentage points above every ordinary band, including the nil-rate band, so the charge starts at the first pound rather than at £125,000. That is the figure in force since 31 October 2024, and it applies even when your main home is abroad. A freehold purchase below £40,000 is outside the higher rates and pays the ordinary rates instead. If you are replacing your only or main residence in the same transaction, the higher rates do not apply at all.
Do non-UK residents pay more stamp duty?
Yes. A buyer who is not UK resident for SDLT pays 2 percentage points above every band, on top of any additional-property charge, for completions on or after 1 April 2021. A freehold purchase below £40,000 is outside the surcharge and pays the ordinary rates instead. Residence for this test is counted in days spent in the UK around the transaction, not by nationality or visa, and a couple buying together is treated as non-resident if either of them is.
When do I pay stamp duty and how?
The return has to reach HMRC and the tax has to be paid within 14 days of completion. Your solicitor or conveyancer normally files the return and pays on your behalf on the day of completion, then recovers it from the completion funds. Missing the deadline means penalties and interest, so it is worth asking who is filing before you exchange.
Can I get the second-home surcharge refunded?
Yes, if the additional property became your main home and you sell or give away your previous main home within 3 years of buying it, or later than that where exceptional circumstances outside your control delayed the sale. HMRC then repays the higher-rate part of the bill. The claim has to reach HMRC by the later of 12 months after the sale or 12 months after the filing date of the return on the new home, and it is not automatic: somebody has to make it. See "Apply for a refund of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax" on GOV.UK for the form and the conditions.
Does this calculator cover Scotland and Wales?
Not yet. It covers England and Northern Ireland only. A purchase in Scotland pays Land and Buildings Transaction Tax to Revenue Scotland and a purchase in Wales pays Land Transaction Tax to the Welsh Revenue Authority, both with their own bands, their own nil-rate thresholds and their own additional-property charge. Use the official calculator for those two until this one models them.
Is the second-home surcharge 3% or 5%?
5%. It was 3% until 31 October 2024, and a lot of pages still print the old figure. The surcharge is added to every band rather than charged on its own, so on an additional property each portion of the price is taxed at its ordinary rate plus 5 percentage points.
Can I avoid the additional-property surcharge?
Legitimately, in two situations. If the purchase replaces your only or main residence, the higher rates do not apply at all. If you buy before selling the old home, you pay them and then reclaim them once it sells, within the window HMRC allows. A freehold purchase below £40,000 is outside the higher rates and pays the ordinary rates instead. There is no arrangement that removes the charge on a genuine second property, and schemes that claim to are challenged. See "Apply for a refund of the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax" on GOV.UK for the reclaim route.
Are the stamp duty rates changing?
Nothing is legislated. The rates in force from 1 April 2025 have no end date in law, so they stand until a Budget changes them. Property transaction tax moves on Budget dates rather than at the start of a tax year, and every figure on this page is rendered from the rule set in force, so the day a change takes effect this page changes with it.
Where these figures come from
SDLT rates in force from 1 April 2025, checked against GOV.UK on 12 September 2026.
These figures are estimates for a straightforward residential purchase, and your own circumstances decide the final bill. Your conveyancer files the return, and GOV.UK publishes the official rates and calculator.