Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax you pay when you buy property in England and Northern Ireland. It is charged in slices, so you only pay the higher rate on the part of the price that falls in each band, not on the whole amount. What you actually pay depends on which of three positions you are in: a home mover, a first-time buyer, or someone buying an additional property such as a buy-to-let or second home.
The rates below have applied since 1 April 2025 and remain in place through 2026. They are set by HMRC and published on GOV.UK. Scotland and Wales run their own systems, covered at the end.
Standard residential rates 2026
These are the rates for someone buying a home they will live in, who is replacing their main residence (so not a first-time buyer and not buying an additional property).
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% |
| Above £1.5 million | 12% |
Buy-to-let and second home rates
Buy an additional residential property and you pay a 5% surcharge on top of every band. This higher-rate charge applies when, at the end of the day of purchase, you own more than one residential property and are not replacing your main home. It covers most buy-to-lets, holiday homes and second homes, and it is charged on the whole price. The surcharge rose from 3% to 5% on 31 October 2024.
| Band | Rate (with 5% surcharge) |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 7% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 15% |
| Above £1.5 million | 17% |
A limited company buying residential property always pays these additional-dwelling rates, no matter how many properties it owns.
First-time buyer relief
First-time buyers get a more generous nil-rate band, but only up to a cap.
| Band | Rate (first-time buyer) |
|---|---|
| Up to £300,000 | 0% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% |
| Above £500,000 | No relief: standard rates apply on the whole price |
The important trap is the cliff edge at £500,000. Buy for £500,000 and you pay £10,000. Buy for £500,001 and the relief is withdrawn entirely, so you pay the standard home-mover rates on the full price instead.
How stamp duty is calculated: worked examples
Because SDLT is banded, the easiest way to see it is a worked comparison. Here is the tax on the same price for each type of buyer.
| Price | Home mover | First-time buyer | Buy-to-let / second home |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £0 | £15,000 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £0 | £20,000 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 | £40,000 |
Take the £300,000 buy-to-let. You pay 5% on the first £125,000 (£6,250), 7% on the next £125,000 (£8,750) and 10% on the final £50,000 (£5,000), which comes to £20,000, an effective rate of 6.67%. The surcharge alone accounts for £15,000 of that.
The thresholds that changed in April 2025
Two temporary reliefs ended on 31 March 2025 and the thresholds reverted:
- The standard nil-rate band dropped from £250,000 back to £125,000.
- First-time buyer relief dropped from £425,000 (with a £625,000 cap) back to £300,000 (with a £500,000 cap).
No further SDLT changes have been announced for 2026, so these are the rates to budget with.
Scotland and Wales
SDLT only applies in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) with its own bands and a 6% Additional Dwelling Supplement on second homes. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT). The bands and thresholds differ in each, so do not use the figures above for a Scottish or Welsh purchase.
Work out your own stamp duty
For a figure on your exact price, use the free stamp duty calculator, which applies the standard, surcharge or first-time buyer bands and shows the band-by-band breakdown. If you are weighing up a buy-to-let, the buy-to-let stamp duty surcharge is the single biggest upfront cost, so factor it in alongside the mortgage with the buy-to-let mortgage calculator before you commit.
