UK Stamp Duty Calculator (SDLT, LBTT & LTT)

How to use the stamp duty calculator

Enter the price you're paying (or expecting to pay) for the property, choose where in the UK it's located, and select the buyer type that applies to you. The calculator instantly works out how much Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), or Land Transaction Tax (LTT) you'll owe, along with a full band-by-band breakdown so you can see exactly how the total was calculated.

Property transaction tax is one of the biggest one-off costs of buying a home in the UK, and it catches a lot of buyers out because it's due on completion — on top of your deposit, mortgage arrangement fees and legal costs. Working it out in advance means there are no surprises when your solicitor sends the final completion statement.

How the bands work

Property transaction taxes across the UK all use a banded (marginal) system, much like Income Tax. Rather than paying one flat rate on the entire purchase price, you pay 0% on the portion of the price within the first band, then progressively higher rates on each slice of the price that falls into higher bands. For example, under standard SDLT rates in England and Northern Ireland: 0% up to £125,000, 2% on the next slice up to £250,000, 5% up to £925,000, 10% up to £1.5 million, and 12% above that.

First-time buyers get extra relief: in England and Northern Ireland, no SDLT is due on the first £300,000, with 5% charged on the portion between £300,000 and £500,000. If the property costs more than £500,000, the relief doesn't apply at all and standard rates are used on the full price instead. Buyers of additional properties — second homes, holiday lets, and buy-to-lets — pay a surcharge on top of the standard bands, and non-UK residents face a further surcharge in England and Northern Ireland.

Worked example

A first-time buyer purchasing a flat in Manchester for £350,000 would pay 0% on the first £300,000 (£0) and 5% on the remaining £50,000 (£2,500) — a total SDLT bill of £2,500, an effective rate of just 0.7% of the purchase price.

Compare that with a landlord buying the same £350,000 flat as a second buy-to-let property: they'd pay standard rates plus the additional-property surcharge on every band — 5% on the first £125,000 (£6,250), 7% on the next £125,000 up to £250,000 (£8,750), and 10% on the remaining £100,000 up to £350,000 (£10,000) — a total of £25,000, ten times more than the first-time buyer pays for an identical property.

Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT)

Scotland's LBTT has its own nil-rate band up to £145,000 (extended to £175,000 for first-time buyers), then rises through 2%, 5%, 10% and 12% bands. The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) is charged on top for second homes and buy-to-lets. Wales replaced SDLT with Land Transaction Tax in 2018, with a nil band up to £225,000 and its own higher rates for additional properties — but, unlike England and Scotland, Wales no longer offers any first-time buyer relief, so everyone pays the same main rates regardless of buying history.

Common questions when budgeting for stamp duty

A frequent mistake is forgetting that stamp duty is due in full on completion, separately from your deposit — lenders won't add it to your mortgage, so you'll need the cash available alongside your deposit and legal fees. It's also worth double-checking your buyer-type status carefully: if you already own any share of a residential property anywhere in the world (including inherited property or one owned jointly), you may not qualify as a first-time buyer even if you've never bought a home yourself.

Related calculators

Once you know your stamp duty bill, use our mortgage calculator to see how your deposit and loan size affect your monthly repayments, and check your take-home pay to make sure the whole purchase — deposit, stamp duty and monthly mortgage — fits comfortably within your budget.