About this calculator
Buy a home in the UK and you pay a transfer tax on top of the price — but which tax depends on where the property sits. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT). The three systems have different thresholds, different bands and different first-time buyer rules, so the same £350,000 home is taxed three different ways.
All three are banded like income tax: each rate applies only to the slice of the price inside its band, never to the whole price. That is why the breakdown table matters — and why the "effective rate" (total duty divided by price) is always lower than the headline band rate people quote.
Buying a property you will not live in as your only home — a second home or a buy-to-let — changes the bill completely. Every nation adds a surcharge for additional properties: England and Northern Ireland add 5 percentage points to every SDLT band, Scotland adds a flat 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on the whole price, and Wales swaps in a separate, higher LTT table. Choose "Additional property" above and the calculator applies the right schedule for your nation.
How to use it
- Choose the nation the property is in — this selects SDLT, LBTT or LTT.
- Enter the price and choose the purchase type: main residence, first-time buyer, or additional property (second home or buy-to-let).
- Read the total duty, the effective rate, and the band-by-band build-up.
The formula
England first-time buyers pay 0% to £300,000 and 5% on the slice to £500,000 — but the relief vanishes entirely above £500,000. Scotland raises the LBTT nil band to £175,000 for first-time buyers. Wales offers no first-time buyer relief at all. The additional-property surcharge only applies to purchases of £40,000 or more, in all three nations.
Worked example
A £350,000 home: in England a standard buyer pays £7,500 (nothing on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000, 5% on the last £100,000), while a first-time buyer pays just £2,500 thanks to the relief. In Scotland the same home costs £8,350 in LBTT; in Wales, £7,500 in LTT. Same price, same island — three different tax bills. Buy that £350,000 home as an additional property instead and the bills jump to £25,000 in England, £36,350 in Scotland (£8,350 LBTT plus £28,000 ADS) and £24,950 in Wales.
Sources: HMRC SDLT bands, Revenue Scotland LBTT bands and Welsh Government LTT bands, current October 2026, including first-time buyer reliefs and the additional-property schedules (SDLT bands +5 points, LBTT Additional Dwelling Supplement at 8%, LTT higher rates). Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much is stamp duty on a £350,000 house?
England/NI: £7,500 for a standard buyer, £2,500 for a first-time buyer — and £25,000 if it is an additional property. Scotland: £8,350 (£7,750 for a first-time buyer; £36,350 as an additional property). Wales: £7,500 (no first-time relief; £24,950 at the higher rates). Use the calculator above with your exact price — the bands make mental arithmetic unreliable.
When do I pay stamp duty?
In England and Northern Ireland the SDLT return and payment are due within 14 days of completion; your solicitor usually files and pays from the purchase funds. Scotland allows 30 days for LBTT and Wales 30 days for LTT. Interest and penalties apply when late.
Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty?
In England, not on the first £300,000, and only 5% on the slice up to £500,000 — above £500,000 the relief is lost completely and standard rates apply to the whole purchase. In Scotland the nil-rate band simply rises from £145,000 to £175,000. Wales has no first-time buyer relief.
How much stamp duty do I pay on a second home or buy-to-let?
Pick "Additional property" as the purchase type above — the surcharge is built in. England & NI add 5 points to every SDLT band (5/7/10/15/17%), so a £300,000 additional purchase costs £20,000 against £5,000 at standard rates. Scotland charges standard LBTT plus the Additional Dwelling Supplement, a flat 8% of the whole price. Wales has a separate higher-rates LTT table with its own thresholds. The surcharge only applies to purchases of £40,000 or more. For the rental side of the purchase — yield, cashflow and the lender coverage test — see the buy-to-let calculator linked below.
I bought my new home before selling the old one — can I claim the surcharge back?
Usually, yes. The higher rates are charged because on completion day you own two properties, but if the new property replaces your main residence and you sell the previous main home within 3 years of completing the purchase, you can reclaim the additional-property part of the bill (HMRC for SDLT; Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority run the equivalent refunds for ADS and higher-rate LTT). You claim after the sale — for SDLT, within 12 months of whichever is later: the sale, or the filing date of the original return. Sell before you buy, or on the same day, and the higher rates never apply at all.
What formula does this uk stamp duty calculator use?
Duty = Σ (price slice in each band × band rate). SDLT: 0% to £125k, 2% to £250k, 5% to £925k, 10% to £1.5m, 12% above. Additional property: SDLT bands + 5 points (5/7/10/15/17%); Scotland pays standard LBTT plus ADS at 8% of the whole price; Wales uses its own higher-rates table. LBTT and LTT standard bands — see the table. England first-time buyers pay 0% to £300,000 and 5% on the slice to £500,000 — but the relief vanishes entirely above £500,000. Scotland raises the LBTT nil band to £175,000 for first-time buyers. Wales offers no first-time buyer relief at all. The additional-property surcharge only applies to purchases of £40,000 or more, in all three nations. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.