Stamp duty explained: SDLT, LBTT and LTT in 2026
There is no such thing as “UK stamp duty”. There are three separate taxes with three sets of thresholds, and the differences are large enough to change what you can afford depending on which side of a border you buy. This guide covers all three, plus the reliefs, surcharges and refund rules that decide what you actually pay.
In this guide
How the tax works: marginal, not flat
The most common misunderstanding is that crossing a threshold taxes your whole purchase at the higher rate. With one exception, it does not. These taxes work like income tax, where each rate applies only to the slice of the price inside that band.
A £300,000 purchase in England by someone moving home is not taxed at 5%. It is taxed at 0% on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000, and 5% on the final £50,000. Total: £5,000, an effective rate of 1.67%.
The exception is Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement, which is charged at 8% on the entire purchase price rather than band by band. On a £200,000 second home in Scotland that is £16,000 on top of the standard LBTT.
England & Northern Ireland: SDLT
These rates took effect on 1 April 2025 and were unchanged in April 2026.
| Portion of price | Standard | First-time buyer | Additional property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 0% | 7% |
| £250,001 to £300,000 | 5% | 0% | 10% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| £500,001 to £925,000 | 5% | No relief | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% | No relief | 15% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 12% | No relief | 17% |
Non-UK residents pay a further 2% surcharge on top of whichever column applies. Residence for this purpose is tested on days spent in the UK in the twelve months before completion, not on citizenship, and it is refundable if you subsequently meet the residence test.
Scotland: LBTT
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax replaced SDLT in Scotland in 2015. The Scottish Budget maintained the 2025/26 rates for 2026/27, with the Additional Dwelling Supplement held at 8%.
| Portion of price | Standard | First-time buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% | 0% |
| £145,001 to £175,000 | 2% | 0% |
| £175,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 2% |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% | 5% |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% | 10% |
| Over £750,000 | 12% | 12% |
Scottish first-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000, a maximum saving of £600, considerably less generous than the English relief. Scotland's rates also bite earlier: a £400,000 home costs £13,350 in LBTT against £10,000 of SDLT in England.
Wales: LTT
Land Transaction Tax has applied in Wales since 2018. Current main rates took effect on 10 December 2024, with higher rates from 11 December 2024.
| Portion of price | Main rate | Higher rate |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £180,000 | 0% | 5% |
| £180,001 to £225,000 | 0% | 8.5% |
| £225,001 to £250,000 | 6% | 8.5% |
| £250,001 to £400,000 | 6% | 10% |
| £400,001 to £750,000 | 7.5% | 12.5% |
| £750,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% | 15% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 12% | 17% |
Wales has no first-time buyer relief. In exchange, its £225,000 nil-rate band is the highest starting threshold in the UK and applies to every buyer, which makes Wales cheaper than England for purchases below roughly £250,000 and more expensive above it.
The same house, three nations
| Price | England & NI | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £1,500 | £1,100 | £0 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £4,600 | £4,500 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £13,350 | £10,500 |
| £600,000 | £20,000 | £33,350 | £25,500 |
Check your own figure on the stamp duty calculator, which shows the band-by-band working for whichever nation you select.
The additional property surcharge
You pay the higher rates if you will own more than one dwelling anywhere in the world at the end of the day of completion, and the property you are buying costs £40,000 or more. It is not limited to landlords: it catches holiday homes, properties bought for children, and inherited shares.
- England & NI: 5% added to every band. Rose from 3% on 31 October 2024.
- Scotland: 8% of the full purchase price, not band by band.
- Wales: separate higher rate bands starting at 5%.
An inherited share is the trap that catches most people. If you own even 5% of a property you inherited with siblings, your next purchase attracts the surcharge, unless the share is worth under £40,000 and you have owned it for less than three years, in a narrow exemption worth checking with your conveyancer.
Refunds you may be owed
- Replacing your main residence. If you buy the new home before selling the old one, you pay the surcharge and can reclaim it if the old home sells within 36 months. This is the most commonly claimed refund and the most commonly forgotten.
- Non-resident surcharge. Reclaimable if you spend 183 days in the UK in the twelve months following completion.
- Uninhabitable property. Properties genuinely unfit for use as a dwelling may not attract residential rates at all. This is a technical area with a lot of aggressive marketing around it, so take proper advice rather than acting on a cold call.
- Multiple dwellings. A property containing a self-contained annexe may qualify for different treatment. Rules have tightened; check current position before assuming.
Cliff edges and negotiation points
£500,001 for first-time buyers in England. At £500,000 you pay £10,000. At £500,001 you pay £15,000. A single pound of price costs £5,000 of tax. If you are negotiating anywhere near that number, this is worth raising explicitly with the agent.
£40,000 for the surcharge. A £39,000 purchase attracts no surcharge; a £41,000 one attracts the full amount on the whole price. Relevant for small flats, garages with dwellings, and parking spaces bought separately.
One legitimate reduction: fixtures and fittings genuinely being sold separately, such as carpets, curtains, free-standing appliances and garden furniture, can be excluded from the chargeable consideration. The amounts must be honest and reflect actual value. Inflating them to duck under a threshold is tax evasion, and HMRC does check.
Do this next: calculate your exact bill on the stamp duty calculator, then add it to your deposit and legal fees to work out the real cash you need on completion day. Check the monthly cost on the mortgage calculator.