Calculate Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on a residential purchase in England or Northern Ireland. This uses the rates in force since 1 April 2025, which still apply in October 2026: standard bands, first-time buyer relief only up to £500,000, and the higher rates for additional properties. Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) are not covered.
Estimate only, not tax or financial advice. Rates are the England and Northern Ireland residential bands in force since 1 April 2025 and still current in October 2026. First-time buyer relief applies only if the price is £500,000 or less; above that, standard rates apply to the whole price. This does not include the 2% non-UK resident surcharge, company or non-natural person rates, or linked transactions. Rates may change — check HMRC before you exchange.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged on residential purchases in England and Northern Ireland. The temporary nil-rate threshold of £250,000, and first-time buyer relief up to £625,000, ended on 31 March 2025. The bands below are the ones HMRC publishes for purchases from 1 April 2025, and they are still the rates to use in October 2026. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax — do not use this page for those purchases.
You pay the rate on the slice of the price inside each band, not on the whole price.
You can claim relief only if every buyer is a first-time buyer, you intend to live in the property as your only or main home, and the purchase price is £500,000 or less. On those purchases you pay 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. If the price is over £500,000, the relief is not available at all and the standard rates apply to the whole price. There is no taper that continues up to £625,000 — that threshold belonged to the rules that ended on 31 March 2025.
If buying the property means you will own more than one residential property worth £40,000 or more, and you have not replaced your main home, the higher rates apply. From 1 April 2025 those rates are 5 percentage points above the standard bands: 5% up to £125,000, 7% on £125,001 to £250,000, 10% on £250,001 to £925,000, 15% on £925,001 to £1,500,000, and 17% above £1,500,000. A purchase under £40,000 does not attract the higher rates. If you sell your previous main home within 36 months you can usually claim a refund of the extra tax. Non-UK residents usually pay a further 2% on top of whichever residential rates apply; this calculator does not add that surcharge.
You are a first-time buyer if you, and anyone you are buying with, have never owned a residential property anywhere in the world. A property you inherited or owned before moving to the UK still counts. Selling years ago does not restore first-time buyer status. If one buyer has owned before, nobody in the purchase can claim the relief. The relief is claimed on the SDLT return by your solicitor, using relief code 32. On a £400,000 purchase a qualifying first-time buyer pays £5,000 (5% of £100,000 above £300,000). A standard buyer pays £10,000. On £500,000 the first-time buyer pays £10,000 and the standard buyer pays £15,000. At £500,001 the relief disappears and both pay the standard £15,000.05.
HMRC's own example for a £300,000 additional residential property bought on or after 1 April 2025 is £20,000: 5% of £125,000 (£6,250), 7% of the next £125,000 (£8,750) and 10% of the remaining £50,000 (£5,000). A £500,000 additional property is £40,000. Married couples and civil partners are treated as one unit for the higher rates. Owning only commercial property does not by itself trigger them. Replacing your main home is usually outside the higher rates if the sale of the old home has already completed, or you can reclaim the extra tax if that sale completes within 36 months. Companies and other non-natural persons can pay a separate higher flat rate on some residential purchases; this page does not calculate that rate.
The tax is charged in slices, so negotiating a slightly lower price saves duty only on that slice, except at the first-time buyer cliff. A first-time buyer who pays £500,000 owes £10,000. At £500,001 the relief is lost and the bill becomes the standard £15,000.05. That cliff is real. Multiple dwellings relief was abolished for purchases completing on or after 1 June 2024, so it is not a planning tool for a purchase now. Marketed arrangements that claim to remove SDLT are a common source of HMRC enquiries, penalties and interest. Budget for the duty alongside the deposit. Your solicitor normally files the return and pays HMRC within 14 days of completion.
The price is within the £500,000 relief limit. The first £300,000 is taxed at 0%. The remaining £75,000 is taxed at 5%, so SDLT is £3,750. A standard buyer on the same price pays £8,750 (2% of £125,000 plus 5% of £125,000), so the relief is worth £5,000.
0% on £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500) and 5% on the remaining £200,000 (£10,000). Total SDLT is £12,500. No higher rate applies if this replaces the buyer's only or main home.
Higher rates: 5% of £125,000 (£6,250), 7% of £125,000 (£8,750) and 10% of £50,000 (£5,000). Total SDLT is £20,000. This matches the worked example on the HMRC higher-rates guidance for purchases from 1 April 2025.
Relief is not available above £500,000, so the old £425,000 / £625,000 calculation must not be used. Standard rates apply: 0% on £125,000, 2% on £125,000 (£2,500) and 5% on £375,000 (£18,750). Total SDLT is £21,250, the same as any other buyer of a main home at this price.
Treat the result as a budget figure, not a return. Confirm the buyer type before you rely on first-time buyer relief, because one owner-occupier who has owned before disqualifies the whole purchase. If you are replacing a main home, ask your solicitor whether the higher rates apply on completion and whether a refund is available later. Non-UK residents should add the 2% residency surcharge, which this calculator leaves out. Keep the SDLT5 certificate. Rates and reliefs change at Budgets, so check the HMRC residential rates and the higher-rates guidance on the day you exchange.