Stamp Duty Calculator UK
Model: GOV.UK residential SDLT bands for England and Northern Ireland, 2026/27. The return and payment are due within 14 days of completion. This calculator is not tax advice — confirm the figure with your conveyancer, who files the return.
How stamp duty is worked out
SDLT is charged on slices of the price, like income tax bands. Each slice is taxed at its own rate and the slices are added together. That is why a £350,000 purchase does not cost 5% of £350,000 (£17,500) — it costs £7,500. The first £125,000 is taxed at 0%, the slice from £125,001 to £250,000 at 2% (£2,500), and the slice from £250,001 to £350,000 at 5% (£5,000). The total is £7,500. The same slice logic applies to every price, which is why the tax jumps at each threshold rather than on the whole amount.
Standard SDLT rates (England & Northern Ireland, residential)
| Slice of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 12% |
These are the GOV.UK residential rates in force since 1 April 2025. They apply when the property will be your only home.
Worked examples: what you pay at each price
| Price | Home mover | First-time buyer | Second home / buy-to-let |
|---|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £1,500 | £0 | £11,500 |
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £0 | £15,000 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £0 | £20,000 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £2,500 | £25,000 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £5,000 | £30,000 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 | £40,000 |
| £600,000 | £20,000 | £20,000 | £50,000 |
| £1,000,000 | £43,750 | £43,750 | £93,750 |
Check one row by hand: on £400,000, the slices are £0 on the first £125,000, 2% of £125,000 (£2,500), and 5% of £150,000 (£7,500) — £10,000 in total. A first-time buyer pays 5% only on the slice above £300,000, which is £5,000. A second-home buyer pays the standard £10,000 plus a 5% surcharge on the whole £400,000 (£20,000), giving £30,000.
First-time buyer relief: the £500,000 cliff
First-time buyers pay no SDLT on the first £300,000 and 5% on the slice from £300,001 to £500,000 — but only if the home costs £500,000 or less. Above £500,000 the relief disappears entirely and the standard rates apply to the whole price. That creates a cliff: a first-time buyer paying £500,000 owes £10,000, while one paying £500,001 owes £15,000.05 — one extra pound of price, £5,000.05 of extra tax. The relief also requires every person named on the purchase to be a first-time buyer; if any joint buyer has owned a residential property anywhere in the world before, including an inherited share, the relief is lost for everyone.
Second homes and buy-to-let: the 5% surcharge
If you already own a residential property, buying another one attracts a 5% surcharge on the whole price, on top of the standard rates. That is why the second-home column above is so much higher: on a £350,000 buy-to-let, the surcharge alone is £17,500, plus £7,500 of standard SDLT. The surcharge rose to 5% on 31 October 2024. There are exceptions — for example, replacing your main home and selling the old one can avoid the surcharge — but the rules are detailed, so ask your conveyancer before you rely on an exception. SDLT is also due within 14 days of completion, and a return must be filed even when no tax is due, for example when claiming first-time buyer relief.
Scotland and Wales are different
SDLT covers England and Northern Ireland only. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), with no tax up to £145,000 and a first-time buyer nil-rate band extended to £175,000. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT), with a higher nil-rate band of £225,000 and no first-time buyer relief. If you are buying in Scotland or Wales, do not use this calculator — use the Revenue Scotland or Welsh Revenue Authority calculators instead. Northern Ireland uses the same SDLT bands as England, so this calculator does apply there.
Paying stamp duty: timing, reliefs and traps
The SDLT return and payment are due within 14 days of completion, and your conveyancer usually files the return and pays the tax from the money you send them on completion day. If you are buying with a mortgage, the lender will want the tax sorted before the money is released, so the stamp duty is effectively part of your completion funds — budget for it alongside the deposit, not after it. A return must be filed even when no tax is due, for example when first-time buyer relief covers the whole amount, and failing to file can mean a penalty even when the tax itself is nil. There are reliefs beyond first-time buyer relief that can change the answer: multiple dwellings relief was withdrawn, but reliefs still exist for certain transactions such as transfers between spouses, and for properties bought by charities or for specific uses. If you are replacing your main home and selling the old one, you may avoid the second-home surcharge if the sale completes within three years of the purchase, and you can claim the surcharge back if the old home sells within that window. The rules have deadlines and conditions, so raise them with your conveyancer before exchange, not after completion — reliefs are much harder to claim once the deal is done.
Shared ownership and other purchase types
Not every purchase follows the standard table. In shared ownership, you buy a share of a home — often 25% to 75% — and pay rent on the rest. You can choose to pay SDLT only on the share you buy, or on the full market value of the property; paying on the share is usually cheaper at the time, but you may owe more SDLT later if you staircase (buy more shares) above the thresholds. For a purchase of a property with an annexe or a mixed-use property (part residential, part commercial), different rates apply, and the non-residential bands start at 0% up to £150,000. Leasehold purchases are taxed on the premium paid plus the net present value of the rent, which can add tax that a freehold buyer would not pay. Companies buying residential property pay the standard rates plus a 5% surcharge in most cases, and a 17% rate can apply to very high-value purchases by certain companies. This calculator covers the common case — an individual buying a freehold or long leasehold home in England or Northern Ireland — and anything unusual deserves a conveyancer’s advice before you exchange contracts.
Finally, remember that stamp duty is only one of the costs of buying. On a £350,000 purchase, a home mover pays £7,500 of SDLT, but legal fees, a survey, moving costs and furnishing commonly add several thousand pounds more, and the deposit itself is separate. Lenders do not lend you the stamp duty: it must come from your own funds, and your solicitor will ask for it before completion. First-time buyers often forget it entirely because the relief covers their purchase, then discover it on their second home. Budget for every cost before you offer, not after the offer is accepted.
Related: How Much Can I Borrow · Mortgage Repayment Calculator · Buy-to-Let Mortgage Calculator
Sources: GOV.UK “Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property rates” and “Relief for first time buyers”; HMRC SDLT guidance. Checked 13 November 2026.