Stamp Duty Explained: 2025/26 Rates, Relief & the April Reset
Stamp duty is usually the property cost that catches buyers off guard. Not because it's complicated — it isn't, once you see how it works — but because most people are focused on the mortgage and the deposit, and forget there's a third lump sum due to the government on completion day.
From April 2025, that bill got significantly bigger for most buyers. Here's everything you need to know.
What is stamp duty?
"Stamp duty" is the catch-all term most people use, but the tax you actually pay depends on where in the UK you're buying:
- England & Northern Ireland — Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), collected by HMRC
- Scotland — Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), collected by Revenue Scotland
- Wales — Land Transaction Tax (LTT), collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority
All three work on the same principle — a progressive, banded tax on the purchase price — but the rates and thresholds are different in each nation. We cover all three below.
What changed in April 2025?
Between September 2022 and March 2025, the government temporarily raised SDLT thresholds to help buyers through a difficult market. Those temporary measures expired on 31 March 2025, and rates reverted to their pre-2022 levels.
| Before (to March 2025) | From April 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard nil-rate band | £250,000 | £125,000 |
| First-time buyer nil-rate | £425,000 | £300,000 |
| FTB: max property for relief | £625,000 | £500,000 |
The impact is material. A first-time buyer purchasing at £400,000 paid nothing before April 2025 — the full purchase sat within the old £425,000 FTB nil-rate band. From April 2025, the same buyer pays £5,000 (5% on the £100,000 above the new £300,000 threshold). At £250,000, a standard buyer went from paying £0 to £2,500 overnight.
How stamp duty is calculated
Stamp duty isn't a flat percentage on the whole purchase price. It's banded — different rates apply to different slices, just like income tax. You don't pay 40% on your entire salary just because you hit the 40% band; only the portion within that band is taxed at that rate. Stamp duty works exactly the same way.
England & Northern Ireland — standard buyer rates (from 1 April 2025):
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 12% |
Worked example: £350,000 home, standard buyer (England)
| Slice | Rate | Tax due |
|---|---|---|
| £0 – £125,000 | 0% | £0 |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | £2,500 |
| £250,001 – £350,000 | 5% | £5,000 |
| Total SDLT | £7,500 |
Effective rate: 2.14% — that's the true percentage of the purchase price paid in tax. Not 5%. Understanding effective rate is a useful way to compare the real cost across different property prices.
💡 Use our Stamp Duty Calculator to get your exact figure — covering first-time buyer and additional property scenarios — in seconds.
First-time buyer relief (England & Northern Ireland)
If neither you nor anyone you're buying with has ever owned residential property anywhere in the world, you qualify for first-time buyer relief:
- 0% on the first £300,000
- 5% on £300,001 – £500,000
- No relief at all if the property costs more than £500,000 — standard rates apply to the full purchase price
One rule that catches many buyers out: if you're buying jointly and even one of you has previously owned property, both buyers lose first-time buyer status entirely. There is no partial relief based on ownership share.
Additional property surcharge (England & NI)
Buying a second home, holiday let or buy-to-let? An extra 5% applies on top of standard SDLT rates across the entire purchase price — not just the upper slice. This surcharge was raised from 3% to 5% in October 2024, which materially changes the numbers for investors doing the maths again.
If you're upsizing and need to complete before your old home sells, you'll initially pay the surcharge — but you can claim a refund from HMRC provided you sell your previous main residence within three years of the new purchase. Check the refund process on GOV.UK →
Buying as a non-UK resident?
An extra 2% surcharge applies if you haven't been physically present in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before you complete your purchase — regardless of your nationality. British expats who haven't met that threshold pay it too.
For joint purchases, if any buyer is non-UK resident, the surcharge applies to the entire transaction. If you subsequently reach 183 days' presence in the UK within 12 months of completion, you can apply to HMRC for a refund.
This surcharge applies to England and Northern Ireland only. Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) currently impose no equivalent non-resident surcharge. Full eligibility guidance on GOV.UK →
Scotland (LBTT)
| Band | Standard rate | First-time buyer rate |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% | 0% (up to £175,000) |
| £145,001 – £250,000 | 2% | 2% (from £175,001) |
| £250,001 – £325,000 | 5% | 5% |
| £325,001 – £750,000 | 10% | 10% |
| Over £750,000 | 12% | 12% |
First-time buyers in Scotland benefit from a higher nil-rate threshold — £175,000 versus £145,000 for standard buyers.
Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS): 8% — on the full purchase price. The ADS was raised from 6% to 8% on 5 December 2024 as part of the Scottish Budget. Unlike England's surcharge (which sits on top of the banded LBTT calculation), ADS is charged on the entire transaction value. On a £300,000 additional property, the ADS alone adds £24,000 — on top of whatever LBTT is due. This makes Scotland the most expensive part of the UK for additional property buyers. If you later sell your previous main residence, you can reclaim the ADS — the repayment window is 36 months from the purchase date.
Worked example: £280,000, standard buyer (Scotland)
£145,000 × 0% = £0 · £105,000 × 2% = £2,100 · £30,000 × 5% = £1,500
Total LBTT: £3,600 | Effective rate: 1.29%
Source: Revenue Scotland — LBTT rates and ADS
Wales (LTT)
Wales uses two completely separate rate tables depending on whether you already own a residential property. Unlike England, where the additional property rate is a surcharge added on top of the standard calculation, Wales LTT uses a different schedule entirely for higher-rate transactions.
Standard residential rates (all buyers, from 10 October 2022):
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £225,000 | 0% |
| £225,001 – £400,000 | 6% |
| £400,001 – £750,000 | 7.5% |
| £750,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 12% |
Wales has no first-time buyer relief — all buyers pay the same standard rates regardless of purchase history.
Worked example: £320,000, standard buyer (Wales)
£225,000 × 0% = £0 · £95,000 × 6% = £5,700
Total LTT: £5,700 | Effective rate: 1.78%
Higher residential rates (if you already own a property, from 11 December 2024):
These rates apply in full to the entire purchase — not as an addition to the standard rates above.
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £180,000 | 5% |
| £180,001 – £250,000 | 8.5% |
| £250,001 – £400,000 | 10% |
| £400,001 – £750,000 | 12.5% |
| £750,001 – £1,500,000 | 15% |
| Over £1,500,000 | 17% |
Worked example: £260,000 second home (Wales)
£180,000 × 5% = £9,000 · £70,000 × 8.5% = £5,950 · £10,000 × 10% = £1,000
Total LTT: £15,950
Source: Welsh Revenue Authority — LTT rates and bands
When and how you pay
Payment deadlines differ by nation:
- England & Northern Ireland: stamp duty is due within 14 days of completion
- Scotland (LBTT): the return and payment must be submitted within 30 days of the transaction effective date
- Wales (LTT): payment is also due within 30 days of completion
In practice, your solicitor or conveyancer handles everything in all three cases: they calculate the tax, file the return with the relevant authority, and collect the funds from you before completion day. No stamp duty is owed if a transaction collapses before completion, since the tax is triggered at completion, not exchange.
Should you add stamp duty to your mortgage?
Some lenders allow you to borrow more to cover stamp duty, but it rarely makes sense financially. Adding £7,500 to a mortgage at 4.5% over 25 years costs approximately £5,000 in extra interest on top of the original bill — and it pushes your loan-to-value ratio up, which can move you into a higher rate bracket. If you can pay from savings, that's almost always the better option.
Frequently asked questions
No stamp duty is owed if the transaction collapses before completion — SDLT is triggered at completion, not at exchange of contracts. If you have already completed and the transaction is subsequently unwound in certain circumstances, you may be able to amend your return and claim a refund. Speak to your solicitor about your specific situation.
Yes — stamp duty applies equally to new builds and existing properties. Some developers offer to cover your stamp duty as a buyer incentive, but this is a commercial arrangement, not a tax exemption. SDLT is still calculated on the full contract price regardless.
Yes — significantly. If either buyer has previously owned residential property anywhere in the world, both buyers lose first-time buyer status entirely. There is no partial relief. For example: if you're buying jointly with a partner who owns a flat abroad, you lose the FTB relief on your UK purchase, even though you personally have never owned property.
No — it generally costs more. Companies pay the additional dwelling rates on all residential purchases, with no nil-rate band. For properties over £500,000 acquired through a limited company, an additional 15% flat rate can also apply. This is a complex area; always take professional tax advice before choosing a corporate structure.
Shared ownership has its own SDLT rules. Buyers can choose to pay stamp duty on the full market value of the property upfront (the "market value election"), or only on the share being purchased initially — with further SDLT potentially payable on future staircasing. Your solicitor should model both options before exchange.
Inheriting a property is not a purchase, so no stamp duty is due on the inheritance itself. However, if you buy another property while still owning the inherited one, the inherited property counts towards the additional dwelling surcharge threshold — even if you never lived in it. If you subsequently sell the inherited property, you can reclaim the surcharge from HMRC provided the sale happens within three years of your new purchase.
Could stamp duty change again?
There is growing discussion about broader stamp duty reform, including proposals to shift liability from buyers to sellers — which would fundamentally change how the tax is structured. No firm changes have been announced beyond the April 2025 rate reset, but it's worth staying aware: any significant reform would be announced via a Budget statement. The Bricks & Calcs changelog notes any rate changes as they happen.
The bottom line
Stamp duty is one of the biggest upfront costs of buying property in the UK, and the April 2025 changes made it significantly more expensive for most buyers. Knowing your exact bill before you make an offer — not after — is essential for avoiding surprises on completion day.
Calculate your stamp duty instantly →
📖 Also worth reading: How Much Can I Borrow? — to understand what you can borrow before you factor in the stamp duty bill. And our Mortgage Repayment Guide — to see what the monthly cost actually looks like.