Guide
How much stamp duty will I pay?
It depends on three things: the price of the property, where it is in the UK, and whether you're a first-time buyer, moving home, or buying an additional property. The tax is charged in slices, so you never pay the headline rate on the whole price.
For a standard home move in England, the quick version is this: you pay nothing on the first £125,000, 2% on the part between £125,000 and £250,000, and 5% on the part between £250,000 and £925,000. So on a £350,000 home you'd pay £0 on the first £125,000, £2,500 on the next £125,000, and £5,000 on the last £100,000. That's £7,500 in total, an effective rate of about 2.1%.
What stamp duty actually is
Stamp duty is a tax on buying property or land. Which one you pay depends on where the property is:
- England and Northern Ireland: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT).
- Scotland: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).
- Wales: Land Transaction Tax (LTT).
They work the same way in principle but have different thresholds and rates, so a £300,000 home costs a different amount in tax in each nation.
How the bands work
The most important thing to understand is that stamp duty is charged in slices, like income tax. You don't pay one flat rate on the whole price. You pay nothing up to the first threshold, then a rising percentage on each band above it. That's why the effective rate (the tax as a share of the price) is always lower than the top band you reach.
The 2026 SDLT rates for a standard home move in England and Northern Ireland are:
- Up to £125,000: 0%
- £125,001 to £250,000: 2%
- £250,001 to £925,000: 5%
- £925,001 to £1.5m: 10%
- Above £1.5m: 12%
First-time buyers
If everyone buying has never owned a home before, England gives you a higher nil-rate band: you pay nothing up to £300,000, then 5% on the part between £300,000 and £500,000. Above a £500,000 purchase price the relief no longer applies and you pay the standard rates. Scotland has its own first-time buyer relief; Wales does not have a separate first-time buyer rate.
Second homes and buy-to-let
If you'll own more than one property at the end of the day (a second home or a buy-to-let), an additional-property surcharge applies. In England that's an extra 5% on top of each SDLT band, which adds up quickly. Scotland adds an 8% supplement (the Additional Dwelling Supplement) and Wales charges higher rates throughout. There's usually a small purchase price below which the surcharge doesn't bite, so very low-value purchases can be treated differently.
Scotland and Wales in short
Scotland's LBTT starts its nil-rate band at a different threshold and has its own band structure, as does Wales's LTT. The slice principle is identical (nothing up to the first threshold, then rising rates), but the numbers differ enough that you should work out your specific nation rather than assume the England figure.
These are 2026 figures, and the rules change from time to time. The exact amount your solicitor charges can vary with reliefs and the property's circumstances, so treat this as a guide to plan with, not a final bill.
Work out your exact figure
Our free stamp duty calculator does the band maths for England, Scotland and Wales, for first-time buyers, movers and additional properties, with a breakdown. Your figures stay on your device.