Last updated: July 2026 · Sourced from official UK government publications
This is a plain-English definitions guide. All rates and thresholds are drawn from HMRC and gov.uk official sources. This is not financial advice, see the disclaimer below.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax you pay when you buy property or land in England and Northern Ireland. It’s one of the biggest upfront costs of buying a home. The rates that apply in 2026/27 are the ones that came in on 1 April 2025, and they have not moved since. Here’s exactly how it works and how much you’ll pay.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax paid by the buyer when purchasing property or land in England and Northern Ireland. It applies in bands, like income tax, so you pay different rates on different portions of the price, not one flat rate on the whole amount. Your solicitor handles the calculation and payment within 14 days of completion.
It’s paid by the buyer, not the seller. Your solicitor usually handles the payment as part of the conveyancing process. You have 14 days from completion to file and pay.
The important thing about the timing is that SDLT is cash, due on completion day, and it cannot normally be added to the loan. It sits alongside your deposit and legal fees rather than inside what your mortgage covers. Worth knowing too: the Bank of England base rate moves what a mortgage costs you every month, but it has no effect at all on the stamp duty bill, which is fixed by the price you agree to pay.
Standard residential buyers in England pay 0% on the first £125,000, 2% from £125,001–£250,000, 5% from £250,001–£925,000, 10% from £925,001–£1.5m, and 12% above £1.5m. These thresholds took effect on 1 April 2025 and are still the rates in 2026/27. Each rate applies only to the portion within that band, not the full purchase price.
For standard residential purchases (moving home, not a first-time buyer, not a second property):
| Property value | SDLT rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 12% |
Example: buying a £300,000 home. You pay 0% on the first £125,000 (£0), 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500), and 5% on the remaining £50,000 (£2,500). Total: £5,000.
First-time buyers in England pay 0% SDLT on the first £300,000 of the purchase price, and 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. Properties above £500,000 do not qualify for the relief and standard rates apply in full. Every buyer on the purchase must be a first-time buyer for the relief to apply.
First-time buyers get a discount, but the thresholds reverted in April 2025 after a temporary holiday period:
| Property value | First-time buyer rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £300,000 | 0% |
| £300,001 – £500,000 | 5% |
| Over £500,000 | Standard rates apply (no relief) |
To qualify, you must never have owned property anywhere in the world before, and every buyer on the purchase must be a first-time buyer. That last part catches couples out: if one of you has owned a home before, the whole purchase loses the relief, not half of it.
Example: a first-time buyer purchasing a £400,000 flat pays 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% on the next £100,000, a total of £5,000, saving £5,000 compared to standard rates.
The relief used to be more generous. Until 31 March 2025 the nil-rate band for first-time buyers was £425,000 and the maximum qualifying price was £625,000. Both dropped on 1 April 2025 to the £300,000 and £500,000 figures above.
Note the cliff edge at £500,000. Relief is not tapered: at £500,000 you get it, and at a pound over you lose all of it and pay standard rates on the whole purchase.
They do not line up, which is the trap. Stamp duty first-time buyer relief stops at £500,000, but a Lifetime ISA can only be put towards a first home costing £450,000 or less. So there is a band of properties between £450,001 and £500,000 where you still get the stamp duty relief but your LISA money is off limits for the purchase.
Taking money out of a LISA for a home above that £450,000 cap is not blocked, but it counts as an unauthorised withdrawal and triggers the 25% withdrawal charge, which takes back more than the government bonus put in. The Lifetime ISA withdrawal rules also require the account to have been open and funded for at least 12 months before it can be used on a first home.
Yes. Buying a second home, buy-to-let property, or any additional residential property in England attracts a 5 percentage point surcharge on top of standard SDLT rates at every band. This applies even on low-value properties, and regardless of where in the world the buyer’s existing property is located.
If you’re buying a second home, a buy-to-let property, or any additional residential property, you pay an extra 5 percentage points on top of the standard rates at every band. The surcharge went up from 3% to 5% for transactions completing on or after 31 October 2024, so older guides and calculators showing 3% are out of date.
Because it applies at every band, the surcharge starts from the very first pound. The 0% band becomes 5%, the 2% band becomes 7%, and so on up the table.
Buyers who are not UK resident pay a further 2 percentage points on top of whatever rate would otherwise apply, including on a first or only home.
This applies even if the additional property is low-value. There is a limited exemption if you’re replacing your main residence, but only if you sell your previous main home on the same day or have already sold it.
Stamp duty is only the entry cost on an additional property. When you eventually sell one, the profit is outside the main-home exemption, so Capital Gains Tax is charged on the gain as well.
No. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies only in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales has Land Transaction Tax (LTT). The rates, thresholds, and reliefs differ in each nation; the rules that apply depend on where the property is located.
Stamp Duty is an England and Northern Ireland tax. Scotland and Wales have their own equivalents:
If you’re buying in Scotland or Wales, check the relevant Revenue Scotland or Welsh Revenue Authority calculators.
HMRC provides statutory reliefs that can reduce or eliminate SDLT in defined circumstances. The main ones are first-time buyer relief (for properties at £500,000 or less), mixed-use property relief (where a property has genuine residential and commercial use), and chattels deductions (for genuinely moveable fixtures excluded from the land price).
HMRC provides several statutory reliefs that reduce or eliminate SDLT in defined circumstances:
Full SDLT guidance, including all reliefs, is published at gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax.
First-time buyers in England benefit from Stamp Duty Land Tax relief. From April 2025, first-time buyers pay no SDLT on the first £300,000 of a property's price, and 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. Properties priced above £500,000 do not qualify for first-time buyer relief and standard rates apply in full. Every buyer on the purchase must be a first-time buyer for the relief to apply.
From April 2025, SDLT rates for standard residential purchases in England are: 0% on the first £125,000; 2% from £125,001 to £250,000; 5% from £250,001 to £925,000; 10% from £925,001 to £1.5 million; and 12% above £1.5 million. SDLT is calculated on the amount within each band separately, not on the full purchase price.
Yes. Purchasing an additional residential property in England attracts a 5% surcharge on top of standard SDLT rates at every band, including the 0% band. The surcharge rose from 3% to 5% for transactions completing on or after 31 October 2024. It applies to buy-to-let properties, holiday homes, and any purchase where the buyer already owns another residential property anywhere in the world at the time of completion. Buyers who are not UK resident pay a further 2% on top.
SDLT must be paid and a return filed with HMRC within 14 days of the completion date. In practice, your solicitor or conveyancer typically handles the calculation, submission, and payment on your behalf as part of the conveyancing process, with the amount factored into your completion statement.
Stamp Duty Land Tax applies only in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT). The rates, thresholds, and reliefs differ in each nation. The rules that apply to any given purchase depend entirely on where the property is located, not where the buyer lives.
SDLT rate changes, stamp duty holidays, and housing market announcements, Kvanta covers every Budget change that affects buyers, in plain English.
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