Stamp duty rates, bands and thresholds

Stamp duty bands work like income tax bands: each rate applies only to the part of the price that falls inside that band. A buyer pays nothing on the first slice, then a higher rate on each slice above it. The total is the sum of the tax on every slice, not one rate applied to the whole price.

This is why a small change in price only changes the tax on the top slice. It also explains why two buyers paying similar prices can face very different bills if one of them qualifies for a relief or has to pay a surcharge.

For a buyer who will own only one home, the residential rates are zero up to £125,000, 2% from £125,001 to £250,000, 5% from £250,001 to £925,000, 10% from £925,001 to £1.5 million and 12% above that (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026). These bands have applied since April 2025.

The same bands apply to a new lease premium. Where the rent over the life of a new residential lease, its net present value, is above £125,000, a further 1% is charged on the excess (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026).

Worked example, using example figures, not market data: a home bought for £295,000 by someone who owns no other property pays nothing on the first £125,000, £2,500 on the next £125,000 at 2% and £2,250 on the final £45,000 at 5%, giving a total of £4,750.

The same approach works for any price. The stamp duty calculator applies the current bands to a price entered by the user and shows the tax on each slice, including first-time buyer relief and the higher rates for additional homes.

First-time buyers pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000, provided every buyer is a first-time buyer and the home is their main residence (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026). Above £500,000 the relief is lost and the standard bands apply to the whole price.

The relief applies to residential purchases only, and a buyer who has owned a home anywhere in the world before does not qualify.

Two surcharges can be added to every band. Buyers who will own more than one home usually pay an extra 5%, and buyers who are not UK resident for SDLT usually pay an extra 2% on homes in England and Northern Ireland (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026). Both can apply to the same purchase.

Companies buying a home costing more than £500,000 may pay a single flat rate of 17% on the whole price unless a relief applies (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026). The rules for these cases are covered in the guide to second home stamp duty.

Stamp duty thresholds are set by the government and change at Budgets and fiscal events. The nil-rate band for most buyers fell from £250,000 to £125,000 and the first-time buyer threshold from £425,000 to £300,000 on 1 April 2025, when temporary increases ended (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026).

The date that matters is the effective date of the purchase, usually completion. A purchase that completes after a change pays the new rates, even if the price was agreed earlier.

Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England and Northern Ireland only. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, collected by Revenue Scotland, and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority. Each has its own bands, reliefs and surcharges, and none of them uses the SDLT rates on this page.

Buyers of property in Scotland or Wales need the rates for that country. Separate calculators cover the Scottish and Welsh taxes.