Stamp Duty explained: England, Scotland and Wales

SDLT rates (England and Northern Ireland) since 1 April 2025

The higher rates for additional dwellings add 5% to every band and apply to second homes and buy-to-lets costing £40,000 or more. Non-UK residents pay a further 2%. Companies buying homes over £500,000 can pay a flat 17% unless a relief applies.

Worked example: £350,000 home in England

The SDLT return must be filed and tax paid within 14 days of completion; your conveyancer normally does this.

• Home mover: 0% on £125,000 + 2% on £125,000 (£2,500) + 5% on £100,000 (£5,000) = £7,500
• First-time buyer: 0% on £300,000 + 5% on £50,000 = £2,500
• Second home: £7,500 + 5% of £350,000 (£17,500) = £25,000

First-time buyer relief rules

You qualify only if you, and everyone buying with you, have never owned a residential property anywhere in the world, and you will live in it as your main home. In England and NI the price must be £500,000 or less. In Scotland the relief raises the nil band to £175,000 (worth up to £600). Wales has no first-time buyer relief, but its nil band is higher at £225,000.

LBTT (Scotland) and LTT (Wales)

Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement (8% since 5 December 2024) is charged on the whole price, not by band. The Welsh higher rates are a separate set of bands, not a flat addition.

Same £350,000 home in each nation

Refunds of the surcharge

If you pay the higher rates because you bought a new main home before selling your old one, you can claim a refund if you sell the old one within 3 years in England and NI or Wales, or within 36 months in Scotland (for ADS). Claim promptly; strict time limits apply to the refund claim itself.

A £600,000 home in each nation

Above £500,000 the differences between the three taxes grow quickly, and first-time buyer relief in England stops completely.

On a £600,000 main home, a buyer pays £20,000 SDLT in England or Northern Ireland, £33,350 LBTT in Scotland and £25,500 LTT in Wales. A first-time buyer in England pays the same £20,000, because the relief is lost above £500,000. At £500,000 it would have been £10,000.

Non-residential and mixed-use property

Shops, offices, farmland and mixed-use buildings, such as a flat above a shop, pay lower non-residential SDLT rates: 0% up to £150,000, 2% to £250,000 and 5% above. The additional property surcharge does not apply.

A £400,000 mixed-use building costs £9,500 under non-residential rates, against £10,000 at residential rates. GOV.UK gives examples of mixed property such as a flat connected to a shop, doctor's surgery or office. A house that simply comes with a large garden or outbuildings is a different matter, so take advice before treating a purchase as mixed use. Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished for purchases completing on or after 1 June 2024.

Overseas buyers and shared ownership

• Non-UK residents pay a further 2% on top. A £400,000 home mover purchase by a non-resident costs £18,000, against £10,000 for a UK resident. For this test you are non-resident if you were not in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before the purchase. HMRC offers a refund of the surcharge to buyers who go on to meet the presence test; check eligibility on GOV.UK before paying it.
• Shared ownership buyers can either pay SDLT on each share as they buy it, or make a "market value election" to pay once on the full market value at the start. Which costs less depends on the price and whether you plan to buy more shares later. HMRC's shared ownership guidance works through both routes.
• Joint buyers: the surcharge applies if any buyer owns another residential property worldwide and is not replacing a main home, and first-time buyer relief needs every buyer to qualify.