Stamp Duty UK: Rates, Thresholds, and How to Calculate

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is what you pay when you buy property or land in England and Northern Ireland above a certain price. Scotland charges LBTT instead; Wales charges LTT.

For 2025/26 (rates from 1 April 2025), SDLT works on a sliding scale: 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 £1.5m, and 12% on anything above £1.5m. Each rate applies only to the slice of the purchase price that falls within that band, not the whole amount.

If you are a first-time buyer, you pay 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% from £300,001 to £500,000. There is no relief if the property costs more than £500,000, so a purchase at £501,000 is taxed on the standard residential rates from pound one. That cliff edge catches a lot of people out.

If you already own a property, or you are buying a buy-to-let, you pay an additional 5% surcharge on top of all bands (increased from 3% on 31 October 2024). The surcharge applies from the first pound, not just above a threshold. Non-UK residents pay a further 2% surcharge.