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Stamp duty rates in 2015

Stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland did not change during 2015: the rates in force from 4 December 2014 applied all year, charging a home mover nothing up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1,500,000 and 12% above £1,500,000. A £400,000 home cost a home mover £10,000 throughout 2015, against £10,000 under the rates in force today.

The bars are what a home mover paid on a £400,000 home, the price people ask about most, in each part of 2015.

Work out a purchase in 2015

Pick when it completed, then the price and who was buying.

Who was buying

Stamp duty to pay

£10,000

2.5% of the price

Tax on the bands
£10,000
Stamp duty to pay
£10,000

The rates in force during 2015

One set of rates applied for the whole year. Each portion of the price was taxed at the rate for its band.

Rates in force 4 December 2014 to 31 March 2016

Rates in force 4 December 2014 to 31 March 2016
Portion of the priceHome mover
Up to £125,0000%
£125,001 to £250,0002%
£250,001 to £925,0005%
£925,001 to £1,500,00010%
Above £1,500,00012%

First-time buyer relief did not exist yet, so first-time buyers paid the same as anyone else.

What a £400,000 home cost in 2015

Worked out for a purchase completing in each part of the year, and under the rates in force today.

Stamp duty on a £400,000 home in each part of 2015
CompletingHome moverFirst-time buyerAdditional property
1 January to 31 December 2015£10,000£10,000No relief£10,000
Today£10,000£5,000£30,000

Nothing changed in 2015

The rates in force from the start of the year applied until its end, so a purchase completing on any day of 2015 was taxed the same way.

Stamp duty in other years

Each year has its own page with the rates in force, the dates they changed and what a home cost.

Stamp duty in 2015: questions

What were the stamp duty rates in 2015?

Nothing up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1,500,000 and 12% above £1,500,000 for a home mover, all year, under the rates in force from 4 December 2014.

How much stamp duty was there on a £400,000 home in 2015?

All year: £10,000 for a home mover, £10,000 for a first-time buyer and £10,000 for an additional property. The same price costs a home mover £10,000 today.

Did stamp duty change in 2015?

No. The rates in force from 4 December 2014 applied for the whole of 2015.

Was there first-time buyer relief in 2015?

First-time buyer relief did not exist yet, so first-time buyers paid the same as anyone else.

What was the second home stamp duty surcharge in 2015?

All year: there was no additional-property surcharge.

Did non-UK residents pay more stamp duty in 2015?

No. The non-UK resident surcharge began on 1 April 2021, after 2015.

Does the exchange date or the completion date decide the rates?

The completion date. The bands and first-time buyer relief in force on the day the purchase completes are the ones that apply, even when contracts were exchanged under earlier rules.

Does this cover Scotland and Wales?

No. These are Stamp Duty Land Tax rules, which apply in England and Northern Ireland only. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, each with its own bands and its own rules for companies, leases and shared ownership.

Where these figures come from

These figures are worked out from the rules in force on each completion date for a straightforward residential purchase; the facts of a particular purchase decide what was actually due.

The official rates for each period

Written by the TapTax research teamReviewed by Solomon Amos, PhDLast reviewed: 12 September 2026