Stamp Duty Calculator

What is stamp duty and who pays it?

Stamp duty is a tax paid by the buyer of residential or commercial property in the United Kingdom. In England and Northern Ireland it is called Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), administered by HMRC. Scotland replaced SDLT with Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in April 2015, and Wales introduced Land Transaction Tax (LTT) in April 2018. All three are progressive, banded taxes — meaning you pay different rates on different portions of the purchase price, similar in structure to income tax. The seller pays nothing; the liability belongs entirely to the buyer.

What changed in April 2025?

A temporary SDLT relief — in place since September 2022 — ended on 31 March 2025, reverting the standard residential nil-rate band from £250,000 back to £125,000. If you are a home mover buying in England or Northern Ireland from April 2025, the bands you pay on are:

The reversion added up to £2,500 in additional SDLT for buyers at the £250,000–£925,000 range — a meaningful change for most buyers in Leicestershire, where the average sold price sits between £200,000 and £350,000.

First-time buyer relief — the real numbers

First-time buyers in England purchasing a property for £500,000 or less pay a reduced rate: 0% on the first £300,000, then 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. A first-time buyer purchasing for exactly £300,000 pays no stamp duty at all. Purchase above £500,000 and the relief disappears entirely — standard rates apply from £1. This cliff-edge means the difference between paying £0 and £15,000 can rest on a £1 price difference at the £500,000 threshold: an important negotiation point if you are a first-time buyer close to that ceiling.

Additional property surcharge

If you own another residential property anywhere in the world and are purchasing an additional one, a 5% surcharge applies on top of every standard SDLT band (increased from 3% to 5% in October 2024). The surcharge applies whether you are buying to let, buying a holiday home, or simply buying before you have sold your current main residence. There is a three-year window: if you complete on a new main residence, pay the surcharge, and then sell your previous main home within three years, you can reclaim the difference from HMRC. The surcharge does not apply if you are replacing your main residence and have already sold the previous one by completion day.

Scotland LBTT and Wales LTT

Scotland's LBTT standard bands start lower, with a nil-rate threshold of £145,000 (extended to £175,000 for first-time buyers). For additional residential properties, Scotland charges an Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) of 6% applied as a flat rate on the full purchase price — a different mechanism from England's banded surcharge that can produce a higher total cost at lower purchase prices. Wales charges 0% on the first £225,000 under LTT, but rates step more steeply above that — reaching 6% on the next portion — making LTT potentially higher than SDLT on properties between £225,000 and £400,000. Use the region selector in the calculator above to compare all three systems for your specific purchase price.

SDLT thresholds as a negotiation tool

Because SDLT is banded, crossing a threshold by even £1 increases the tax owed on the entire band above. A property marketed at £260,000 costs a home mover £3,000 in SDLT; at £249,999 it costs £2,500 — a saving of £500 for a £1 reduction. The differential is larger at higher thresholds. At £925,000, every additional pound is taxed at 10%; cross from £924,999 to £925,001 and you add roughly £33,750 in tax at the top band. Buyers and their solicitors routinely use these numbers in negotiations — our calculator lets you model the exact saving for any price point before you make an offer.