2026 Stamp Duty Calculator

Stamp Duty Land Tax is usually the largest purchase cost that cannot be borrowed, so it needs sizing before you make an offer. The calculator above estimates the bill for England and Northern Ireland from the price, your buyer status and whether the property is an additional one. Mortgage One is a whole of market mortgage adviser that sizes the full cash requirement, deposit and SDLT together, before an offer goes in.

If your purchase involves an additional property, a non-UK resident buyer or a main residence you have not yet sold, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

How is stamp duty calculated on a UK property purchase?

SDLT is charged in slices, not at one flat rate on the whole price. A £350,000 main residence attracts £7,500: nothing on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 and 5% on the remaining £100,000. The return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion.

The slice structure is the part buyers most often get wrong. Moving from £249,000 to £251,000 does not reprice the whole purchase at 5%, it applies 5% to the £1,000 that sits above the threshold, adding £50. Working backwards from a fixed cash budget therefore rarely produces a round number, and the difference between two offers a few thousand pounds apart is usually far smaller than people expect.

Your solicitor or conveyancer normally calculates the figure, files the return and pays HMRC from the completion funds. That does not remove the need to size it early, because the money has to be sitting alongside your deposit and legal costs. Our guide to how much mortgage deposit you need covers the other half of that cash requirement.

Current SDLT rate bands for England and Northern Ireland

From 1 April 2025 the residential bands are 0% to £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 that. These replaced the temporary higher thresholds that ran from September 2022 to March 2025.

Standard rates for a main residence:

●      0% on the first £125,000

●      2% on the portion from £125,001 to £250,000

●      5% on the portion from £250,001 to £925,000

●      10% on the portion from £925,001 to £1,500,000

●      12% on any amount above £1,500,000

The April 2025 change matters to anyone comparing a purchase now with one made before it. The nil-rate band dropped from £250,000 back to £125,000, which added £2,500 to the bill on every standard purchase above £250,000. Older calculators and older articles still circulating online frequently return the pre-April 2025 figure, so check the effective date on any number you are given.

Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty in 2026?

First-time buyers pay nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% between £300,001 and £500,000. The relief is a cliff, not a taper: at £500,000 the bill is £10,000, and at £500,001 relief is lost entirely and standard rates apply, taking it to £15,000.

That £5,000 step for a single pound is the sharpest edge in the whole system, and it is worth knowing about before you negotiate rather than after. A first-time buyer purchasing at £400,000 pays £5,000, being nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% on the remaining £100,000.

The qualifying test is strict. Every buyer on the transaction must never have held a freehold or leasehold interest in a residential property anywhere in the world, including an inherited share. One non-qualifying party removes the relief for the whole purchase, which is a common reason a first-time buyer mortgage budget comes up short at the last minute.

The 5% surcharge on second homes and buy-to-let purchases

An additional residential property carries a 5% surcharge on the full price, on top of the standard bands, wherever the price exceeds £40,000. A £300,000 second home therefore costs £20,000 rather than £5,000. The surcharge rose from 3% to 5% on 31 October 2024.

The surcharge is applied to the whole purchase price, not to a slice of it, which is why it lands so heavily on lower-value purchases. On a buy-to-let investment at £150,000 the standard SDLT is £500 but the surcharge adds £7,500, taking the bill to £8,000 and changing the yield calculation materially. The same treatment applies to a holiday let and to any property bought while you already own another.

Overseas property counts. Owning a home abroad makes a UK purchase an additional property even if you have never owned in the UK. The replacement-of-main-residence exemption is the main way out: if you sell one home and buy another to live in, the surcharge does not apply. Where the sale has not completed in time, the surcharge is paid upfront and reclaimed within three years of the new purchase once the old home sells. The cost sits alongside the deposit on second home mortgages and needs to be in the budget from the start.

For a free initial consultation that sizes the deposit, the SDLT and the borrowing together, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

The extra 2% non-UK resident surcharge and how it stacks

Non-UK residents pay a further 2% on top of everything else. On a £400,000 additional property the standard bands give £10,000, the 5% surcharge adds £20,000 and the 2% adds £8,000, for £38,000 in total. Residence is tested on 183 days of UK presence in the surrounding 12 months.

The surcharges are cumulative rather than alternative, which is the point most overseas buyers miss. The SDLT residence test is also its own rule and is not the Statutory Residence Test used for income tax, so it is entirely possible to be UK resident for tax and non-UK resident for SDLT, or the reverse. Our guide to non-UK resident mortgages covers how lenders treat the same borrowers.

There is a refund route. If you subsequently meet the 183-day test in the relevant period after completion, the 2% can be reclaimed. For British buyers working abroad who intend to return, that is worth flagging to the solicitor at the outset rather than discovering later. Our guidance on expat mortgages sets out the wider funding picture for purchases made from overseas.

When do you pay stamp duty and can it go on the mortgage?

SDLT is due on completion and must reach HMRC within 14 days, normally handled by your solicitor from completion funds. Lenders will not generally advance additional borrowing to cover it, so the cash you need is deposit plus SDLT plus legal and other fees.

Nothing is payable at exchange, but the money has to be with the solicitor before completion, so it is a cash question rather than a borrowing question. Buyers who have budgeted only for the deposit are the ones who run into trouble in the final fortnight, particularly on an additional property where the surcharge can exceed the legal fees several times over.

There is a narrow exception on new build purchases where a developer offers to pay the stamp duty as an incentive. That is treated as a builder incentive, has to be declared to the lender, and can affect the valuation the lender works from. If you are moving home rather than buying an additional property, the timing of the sale relative to the purchase is what decides whether the surcharge applies at all. Sizing this against your wider mortgage affordability position is the practical starting point.

Scotland and Wales: LBTT and LTT instead of SDLT

SDLT covers England and Northern Ireland only. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, starting at 0% to £145,000 with an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on the full price. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, with a main residence nil-rate band to £225,000 and its own higher residential rates.

The differences are not cosmetic. Scotland’s nil-rate band starts £20,000 higher than the English one but its additional dwelling supplement is 8% against 5%, so a landlord buying north of the border pays more surcharge on the same price. Wales sets its nil-rate band at £225,000 for a main residence and uses a banded higher-rate structure for additional property rather than a single flat surcharge. Our guide to mortgages in Scotland covers how the Scottish buying process affects the mortgage as well as the tax.

The calculator above returns England and Northern Ireland figures. For a Scottish or Welsh purchase, take the number from the relevant national tax authority rather than adjusting an SDLT figure by hand.

●      This information is a guide only and should not be relied on as a recommendation or advice that any particular mortgage is suitable for you.

●      All mortgages are subject to the applicant(s) meeting the eligibility criteria of lenders.

●      Make an appointment to receive mortgage advice suitable for your needs and circumstances.

This calculator provides a general guide only and does not constitute financial advice. Stamp duty rules and rates may change. Always confirm current rates with your Solicitor.

To have the SDLT position, the deposit and the borrowing sized together before you offer, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

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The information provided in this article is for general guidance only and does not constitute personal or regulated financial advice. If you’d like to understand what these moves could mean for you, speak to Mortgage One. We can explain your options and timings based on your specific circumstances.

FAQs

1. How much is stamp duty?

It depends on the price, the buyer and the property. A £350,000 main residence in England or Northern Ireland attracts £7,500. The same price as an additional property attracts £25,000, because the 5% surcharge applies to the whole purchase price on top of the standard bands. A first-time buyer at £350,000 pays £2,500.

2. When do you pay stamp duty?

The return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion. Your solicitor or conveyancer normally handles both from the completion funds, but the money needs to be with them beforehand. Nothing is payable at exchange.

3. Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty?

Not on the first £300,000. Between £300,001 and £500,000 first-time buyers pay 5% on the portion above £300,000. Above £500,000 the relief is lost entirely and standard rates apply to the full price. Every buyer on the transaction must qualify.

4. Can you add stamp duty to a mortgage?

Generally no. Most lenders will not advance additional borrowing specifically to cover SDLT, so it has to come from your own resources alongside the deposit and legal fees. Where a larger loan would technically be possible, the affordability and loan-to-value consequences usually make it the wrong route.

5. How much is stamp duty on a second home?

The standard bands plus a 5% surcharge on the full purchase price. On £300,000 that is £5,000 of standard SDLT plus £15,000 of surcharge, giving £20,000. The surcharge applies wherever the price exceeds £40,000, and owning property overseas counts towards the additional property test.

6. Do you pay stamp duty when you sell a house?

No. SDLT is paid by the buyer, not the seller. If you are selling one home and buying another to live in, the additional property surcharge should not apply, provided the sale and purchase fall within the required timeframe.

7. Can I reclaim the additional property surcharge if I sell my old home?

Yes, if you are replacing your main residence and the previous home sells within three years of the new purchase. The surcharge is paid upfront at completion and reclaimed afterwards. Your solicitor handles the claim and can confirm the deadline that applies to your case.

8. Does a broker help with the stamp duty side of a purchase?

A broker does not calculate or file your SDLT, that is the solicitor’s role. What a broker does is size the total cash requirement against your borrowing, so the deposit, the SDLT and the fees are tested together rather than separately. Cases fail late far more often on cash than on lending.