Stamp duty calculator

How stamp duty works

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is paid when you buy a home in England or Northern Ireland. Like income tax, it is charged in bands: each rate applies only to the part of the price that falls in that band, not to the whole price.

The tax is rounded down to the nearest pound (HMRC manual SDLTM00050).

A worked example

On a home costing £300,000, bought by someone who is not a first-time buyer and will own only this home:

• £125,000 at 0% = £0
• £125,000 at 2% = £2,500
• £50,000 at 5% = £2,500

That is £5,000 in total. A first-time buyer would pay £0 on the same home, and someone buying it as an additional property would pay £20,000.

First-time buyer relief

First-time buyers pay nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% on the rest, up to £500,000. To qualify (HMRC manual SDLTM29831):

• you, and everyone you are buying with, must never have owned a home before, anywhere in the world, including one you inherited or were given (SDLTM29845);
• you all must intend to live in the property as your only or main home;
• you must be buying as individuals, not as a company, and buying a single home;
• the price must be £500,000 or less.

Above £500,000 the relief is lost completely and standard rates apply to the whole price. That makes a sharp jump: a first-time buyer pays £10,000 at £500,000, but £15,000 at £500,001.

Higher rates for additional properties

If you will own more than one home after buying, for example a second home or a buy-to-let, you usually pay an extra 5% on top of every standard band, including the first one (GOV.UK: buying an additional property). The main points:

• The higher rates apply only to purchases of £40,000 or more, and only homes worth £40,000 or more count as homes you own.
• If you are replacing your main home and sold the old one before, or on the same day as, buying the new one, the higher rates do not apply.
• If you buy your new main home before selling the old one, you pay the higher rates, but you can claim a refund if you sell the old home within 3 years.
• Married couples and civil partners are treated as one buyer, unless they are permanently separated.

Paying stamp duty

You must send an SDLT return to HMRC and pay within 14 days of completion. If you use a solicitor or conveyancer, they usually do this for you on the day of completion (GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax).

What this calculator does not cover

• Buyers who are not resident in the UK usually pay a further 2% surcharge (GOV.UK: rates for non-UK residents). It is not included here.
• Purchases by companies, rent on new leasehold properties, and land or buildings that are not homes.
• Property in Scotland, which has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, or Wales, which has Land Transaction Tax.