Free calculator
Stamp duty calculator
How much stamp duty will you pay? Pick the country and buyer type, enter the price, and this calculator works it out: SDLT for England and Northern Ireland, LBTT for Scotland, with the additional property surcharge, the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) and first-time buyer relief all handled, and the tax broken down band by band.
For an investor the surcharge or ADS is usually the biggest single purchase cost on the deal, bigger than legals, survey and broker fees put together. Get it wrong in an appraisal and the profit figure underneath is wrong by thousands.
Stamp duty calculator
- 5% on the first £125,000£6,250
- 7% from £125,000 to £250,000£8,750
- 10% from £250,000 to £300,000£5,000
SDLT residential bands, England and Northern Ireland
| Band | Standard | Additional property |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 7% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% | 15% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% | 17% |
First-time buyers pay 0% to £300,000 and 5% from £300,001 to £500,000. The relief is unavailable above £500,000.
LBTT residential bands, Scotland
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% |
| Above £750,000 | 12% |
ADS adds 8% of the FULL purchase price on additional dwellings, on top of the banded LBTT. It is not banded.
First-time buyer relief raises the nil band from £145,000 to £175,000.
Rates as at January 2026, always confirm at gov.uk or revenue.scot before completing.
How the calculation works
Both taxes are banded, like income tax: each slice of the price is taxed at that slice's rate. A £300,000 home in England pays nothing on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 and 5% on the remaining £50,000. Nobody pays the top rate on the whole price.
Buying an additional dwelling changes the maths differently in each country. In England and Northern Ireland the surcharge adds 5 percentage points to every band, so the banded structure survives and the extra tax works out at exactly 5% of the full price. In Scotland the Additional Dwelling Supplement is 8% of the FULL purchase price, charged flat on top of the banded LBTT. It is not banded, and calculators that treat it as if it were understate the bill badly; that mistake is common enough that it is worth checking any figure a sourcer hands you.
First-time buyer relief also differs. In England and Northern Ireland a first-time buyer pays nothing to £300,000 and 5% from there to £500,000; above £500,000 the relief disappears entirely and standard rates apply to the whole price. In Scotland the relief simply raises the nil band from £145,000 to £175,000.
Worked example: a £300,000 buy-to-let
In England or Northern Ireland the additional property rates apply: 5% on the first £125,000 is £6,250, 7% on the next £125,000 is £8,750, and 10% on the final £50,000 is £5,000. Total SDLT: £20,000. A home mover buying the same house would pay £5,000, so the surcharge accounts for £15,000, exactly 5% of the full price.
In Scotland the banded LBTT on the same £300,000 is modest: 2% on the £105,000 between £145,000 and £250,000 is £2,100, and 5% on the final £50,000 is £2,500, so £4,600 in total. Then ADS adds 8% of the whole £300,000, another £24,000, for a total of £28,600. The supplement is more than five times the underlying tax, which is why treating it as just another band wrecks Scottish appraisals.
What this calculator does not account for
It assumes a straightforward residential purchase by an individual. Outside that, the rules multiply and the sums are large enough to justify proper advice.
- Wales, which charges its own Land Transaction Tax with different bands
- Non-residential and mixed-use property, which use separate rate tables
- Purchases of six or more dwellings, linked transactions and shared ownership
- Company purchases, which can attract different rates on higher-value homes
- The extra surcharge for non-UK-resident buyers in England and Northern Ireland
- Refunds of the surcharge or ADS when you sell a previous main residence within the permitted window; the reclaim deadlines are strict, so check them before relying on the money
Frequently asked questions
How much is stamp duty on a buy-to-let?
In England and Northern Ireland you pay the residential bands plus 5 percentage points on every band, which works out at the standard bill plus 5% of the full price. On a £200,000 buy-to-let that is £11,500, against £1,500 for a home mover. In Scotland you pay the banded LBTT plus ADS at 8% of the full price.
Is Scottish ADS really charged on the whole price?
Yes. ADS is 8% of the entire purchase price of an additional dwelling, not 8% on a slice above a threshold. On a £250,000 purchase that is £20,000 of ADS before the banded LBTT is even counted. Treating it as a band is one of the most common mistakes in DIY appraisals.
Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty?
Often not. In England and Northern Ireland a first-time buyer pays nothing up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000; above £500,000 the relief is unavailable and standard rates apply to the whole price. In Scotland the relief raises the nil band to £175,000, saving up to £600.
When is stamp duty actually paid?
Shortly after completion; your solicitor normally submits the return and pays it as part of the purchase, so the cash has to be with them at completion. Treat it as day-one money in your appraisal, not a cost you can defer until the property sells or refinances.
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