In short
SDLT in England and Northern Ireland is charged in slices: 0% to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above. First-time buyers pay 0% to £300,000 and 5% to £500,000 (no relief above that), additional properties add 5% to every band and non-residents a further 2%. A £300,000 home costs £5,000 for a mover, £0 for a first-time buyer and £20,000 as a second home; £600,000 costs £20,000, £20,000 and £50,000.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the single largest cash cost of buying a home in England or Northern Ireland after the deposit itself, and it cannot be added to the mortgage. This guide explains how the slice-based bands work in 2026, who qualifies for first-time buyer relief and where it stops, how the additional-property surcharge is applied, what the non-resident surcharge is, and how to work the tax out yourself for a £300,000 and a £600,000 purchase. Scotland (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax) and Wales (Land Transaction Tax) have separate systems and are not covered here.
Open the UK stamp duty calculator →
How the SDLT bands work
SDLT is charged in slices, exactly like income tax. The price is split across the bands and each slice is taxed at its own rate; crossing a threshold only changes the rate on the pounds above it. These are the standard residential rates for an individual buying their only or main home, in force since the temporary higher thresholds ended on 1 April 2025.
| Slice of purchase price | Standard rate | Additional property (+5%) |
|---|---|---|
| £0 – £125,000 | 0% | 5% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | 7% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% | 10% |
| £925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% | 15% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 12% | 17% |
The tax is due within 14 days of completion. In practice your conveyancer files the SDLT return and pays HMRC from the completion funds you send, so the money has to be in your account alongside the deposit — a point to feed into the mortgage affordability calculator when you set a budget.
First-time buyer relief
If every purchaser is a first-time buyer and the price is £500,000 or less, a different scale applies: 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% on the part between £300,000 and £500,000. A £400,000 first home therefore costs 5% × 100,000 = £5,000 in SDLT, against £10,000 for a home mover.
The relief has a hard edge rather than a taper. At £500,001 it is lost entirely and the standard bands apply to the whole price, so a first-time buyer paying £550,000 owes the same £17,500 as anyone else. The relief also depends on every purchaser qualifying: on a joint purchase, one buyer who has owned property before removes the relief for the whole transaction.
First-time buyers also tend to have a Lifetime ISA in the mix. The 25% government bonus can be used on a first home costing up to £450,000, which sits inside the SDLT relief window — the Lifetime ISA calculator checks the cap and shows how far a LISA pot stretches as a deposit.
The additional-property surcharge
Buying a residential property when you (or your spouse or civil partner) will still own another one at the end of the day adds 5 percentage points to every band, including the 0% band — so the surcharge starts from the first pound. A £300,000 buy-to-let or second home attracts £20,000 of SDLT instead of £5,000.
The common exception is replacing your main home. If you buy the new home before the old one has sold, you pay the surcharge up front but can reclaim it from HMRC provided the previous main residence is sold within 36 months; the claim must be made within 12 months of that sale. Landlords should treat the surcharge as part of the purchase cost when running the numbers through the buy-to-let profit calculator.
The non-resident surcharge
Buyers who were outside the UK for 183 or more days in the 12 months before the purchase pay a further 2% on top of whichever rates already apply — standard, first-time buyer or additional-property. It is charged on the whole price, so a £300,000 home mover who is non-resident pays £5,000 + 2% × 300,000 = £11,000. The site calculator does not include this 2%; add it manually if it applies to you.
Worked examples: £300,000 and £600,000
£300,000. Home mover: 0% × 125,000 = £0; 2% × 125,000 (the slice from £125,000 to £250,000) = £2,500; 5% × 50,000 (the slice from £250,000 to £300,000) = £2,500. Total £5,000, an effective rate of 1.67%. First-time buyer: the whole price sits inside the £300,000 nil-rate slice, so £0. Additional property: 5% × 125,000 = £6,250; 7% × 125,000 = £8,750; 10% × 50,000 = £5,000. Total £20,000 — the standard £5,000 plus 5% of the full price.
£600,000. Home mover: £0 + £2,500 + 5% × 350,000 (the slice from £250,000 to £600,000) = £17,500. Total £20,000, an effective rate of 3.33%. First-time buyer: the price is above £500,000, so no relief — £20,000, the same as a mover. Additional property: £20,000 + 5% × 600,000 = £50,000. Non-resident home mover: £20,000 + 2% × 600,000 = £32,000.
The shortcut for any additional-property purchase is to take the standard figure and add 5% of the whole price. It works because the surcharge is a flat uplift on every band.
Stamp duty at other price points
| Price | Home mover | First-time buyer | Additional property |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £0 | £15,000 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £2,500 | £25,000 |
| £450,000 | £12,500 | £7,500 | £35,000 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 | £40,000 |
| £750,000 | £27,500 | £27,500 (no relief) | £65,000 |
| £1,000,000 | £43,750 | £43,750 (no relief) | £93,750 |
Notice how the first-time buyer saving peaks at £5,000 between £300,000 and £500,000 and then vanishes. If you are negotiating around the £500,000 mark, a £5,000 price reduction can be worth £10,000 or more in tax. Once the purchase cost is settled, the mortgage repayment calculator turns the remaining loan into a monthly payment.
Common mistakes
- Applying the top rate to the whole price. A £600,000 home is not taxed at 5% on £600,000 (£30,000); only the slice above £250,000 is, giving £20,000.
- Expecting first-time buyer relief to taper. It does not. One pound over £500,000 and the full standard bill applies.
- Assuming one first-time buyer is enough. On a joint purchase every buyer must qualify, or the standard bands apply to the whole price.
- Forgetting the surcharge starts at £0. The 5% uplift applies to the nil-rate slice too, so there is no tax-free band for additional properties.
- Planning to borrow the SDLT. Lenders fund the property, not the tax; the cash must be available at completion with the deposit and legal fees.
- Using these bands for Scotland or Wales. LBTT and LTT have their own bands and thresholds.
Frequently asked questions
What is the stamp duty threshold in 2026?
£125,000 for home movers and £300,000 for first-time buyers (relief available on homes up to £500,000) in England and Northern Ireland, unchanged since 1 April 2025.
How much stamp duty do I pay on a £400,000 second home?
£27,500 — the standard £7,500 plus the 5% surcharge on the full £400,000. A home mover pays £7,500 and a first-time buyer £5,000.
Can I get the additional-property surcharge back?
Yes, if the new property replaces your main residence and you sell the old one within 36 months. Claim from HMRC within 12 months of the sale.
When is stamp duty paid?
Within 14 days of completion. Your solicitor normally files the return and pays HMRC from the completion funds, so the cash must be available alongside the deposit — it cannot be added to the mortgage.
Do non-UK residents pay more?
Yes — an extra 2% on the whole price if you spent 183 or more days outside the UK in the year before completion, on top of the standard, first-time buyer or additional-property rates.
Sources
- HMRC — Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property rates (standard bands, first-time buyer relief, additional-property and non-resident surcharges; checked 29 September 2026).
- gov.uk — Lifetime ISA (£450,000 first-home cap and 25% bonus; checked 9 October 2026).
- FCA — mortgage affordability rules (income-multiple and stress-test conventions used by the affordability calculator; checked 29 September 2026).