How stamp duty works in England and Northern Ireland
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax you pay when buying property in England or Northern Ireland. It works like income tax: the price is cut into slices, and each slice is taxed at its own rate. You never pay the top rate on the whole price, only on the part of it that falls inside that band.
The standard rates, for someone selling one home and buying another, are:
- £0 to £125,000: 0%
- £125,001 to £250,000: 2%
- £250,001 to £925,000: 5%
- £925,001 to £1.5 million: 10%
- Above £1.5 million: 12%
First-time buyers and additional properties
First-time buyers get their own, kinder bands: nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. The relief has a cliff edge, though. Buy at £500,000 and you pay £10,000; buy at £500,001 and the relief vanishes completely, standard rates apply to the whole price, and the bill jumps to £15,000.
Buying an additional property (a second home or buy-to-let while you still own another home) works the other way: 5 percentage points are added to every band, so the slices are taxed at 5%, 7%, 10%, 15% and 17%. The higher rates apply to the whole purchase once the price reaches £40,000. Below that, no SDLT is due at all.
The same house, three different bills
Here is a £350,000 purchase under each buyer type. Watch how the identical price produces three very different bills.
That is a £22,500 gap between a first-time buyer and a landlord on exactly the same front door, which is why it pays to check your buyer type carefully before budgeting.
Scotland, Wales and the fine print
SDLT applies in England and Northern Ireland only. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, each with different bands, so buyers there should use the devolved calculators instead. Wherever you buy, the return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion; your conveyancer normally handles both and collects the money alongside your deposit and fees.
Remember that stamp duty comes on top of the deposit and cannot usually be added to the mortgage, so it needs to sit in your cash budget from day one. A useful habit is to run this calculator before every viewing above £250,000, where the 5% band starts to bite.
Rates and reliefs change at Budgets and figures here reflect the current bands. This is guidance, not tax or legal advice: for the official rules and edge cases (shared ownership, mixed use, six or more properties) see gov.uk or ask your conveyancer.
Frequently asked questions
Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty?
Often not. First-time buyers pay nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% on the portion between £300,000 and £500,000. If the price is above £500,000 the relief disappears entirely and standard rates apply to the whole purchase. To qualify, every buyer must never have owned property anywhere in the world.
When and how is stamp duty paid?
An SDLT return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion. In practice your conveyancer or solicitor almost always files the return and pays HMRC on your behalf, collecting the money from you as part of the completion funds.
Does this calculator work for Scotland and Wales?
No. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, both with their own bands and rates. This calculator covers Stamp Duty Land Tax, which applies in England and Northern Ireland only.
What counts as an additional property?
Buying a second home, holiday home or buy-to-let while you still own another residential property, where the new purchase is £40,000 or more. The higher rates add 5 percentage points to every band. If you are replacing your main home but have not yet sold the old one, you pay the surcharge up front and can reclaim it if you sell the previous home within 36 months.
Do I pay the top rate on the whole price?
No. SDLT is a banded tax, like income tax. Each slice of the price is taxed at its own rate, so a £300,000 home is charged 0% on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 and 5% only on the final £50,000.