The Stamp Duty Calculator allows you to calculate the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) payable when purchasing a property in England and Northern Ireland. Simply enter the property purchase price, select the type of transaction and provide the relevant buyer details to receive an estimate of the stamp duty due. This helps you understand your potential tax liability and plan for the additional costs involved in your property purchase.
| Band | Rate | Taxable Amount | Duty |
|---|
You are purchasing the full ownership (freehold) of a residential property in England or Northern Ireland. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is calculated on the purchase price using the applicable residential tax bands. The amount payable depends on your buyer type, ownership status and residency status, together with any applicable reliefs or surcharges.
Based on your selected transaction type, buyer details and property price, the calculator determines the SDLT due across each applicable tax band. Any additional-property surcharge, non-UK-resident surcharge, or flat company rate is included automatically where relevant.
Your calculation summary shows the SDLT payable, for a purchase by Individual (a standard purchase), as £2,500, an effective tax rate of 1.00%, the breakdown of tax across each applicable band, and a total property acquisition cost of £252,500 including SDLT.
The final tax liability may vary depending on your individual circumstances and eligibility for statutory reliefs. This calculator is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute professional tax advice — always confirm your position with a solicitor, conveyancer or accountant before completion.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a one-off tax you pay to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) when you buy a property or a piece of land in England or Northern Ireland, if what you're paying is above a set threshold. It's called "stamp duty" because of an old system where physical documents were literally stamped to prove tax had been paid — the stamping itself stopped long ago, but the name stuck. It isn't a recurring charge like Council Tax; you pay it once, around the time your purchase completes, and that's it.
The amount isn't a single flat percentage of the price. Instead, the price is split into portions ("bands"), and each portion is taxed at its own rate — so the first slice of the price might be taxed at 0%, the next slice at 2%, and so on, with the rate increasing as the price gets higher. This calculator does that banded maths for you automatically.
Scotland has its own equivalent called Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales has Land Transaction Tax (LTT) — different names, different rates, but the same basic idea. This page covers the England & Northern Ireland rules only.
The buyer pays SDLT — never the seller. If you're buying with someone else (a partner, friend, or co-investor), you're jointly responsible for making sure it's paid. In practice, almost everyone has their solicitor or conveyancer handle it: they calculate the amount, submit the return to HMRC, and pay it out of the funds you've given them for completion, then add it to their final bill. You only have to deal with it yourself if you're not using a solicitor.
You pay SDLT when you buy a freehold property, buy a new or existing leasehold, buy through a shared ownership scheme, or are transferred land or property in exchange for payment (for example, taking on a mortgage or buying a share in a house). It doesn't matter whether you're a first-time buyer, moving home, buying a second property, buying through a company, or based overseas — everyone falls under the SDLT system somewhere, it's just the rate and any reliefs that change.
SDLT starts to apply once the price of what you're buying reaches:
You pay these rates if, after the purchase, it's the only residential property you own. A 5% surcharge usually applies on top if you already own another residential property.
| Portion of price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% |
| Above £1.5 million | 12% |
Worked example: buying a house for £295,000 — 0% on the first £125,000 (£0), 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500), 5% on the final £45,000 (£2,250). Total SDLT = £4,750.
If you and anyone else you're buying with are first-time buyers, you pay no SDLT up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. If the price is over £500,000, the relief can't be claimed and standard rates apply instead.
Worked example: a first-time buyer purchasing at £500,000 pays 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% on the remaining £200,000 — total SDLT = £10,000.
A further 5% is usually charged on top of the standard rates if buying the additional property means you'll end up owning more than one. This surcharge doesn't apply if you're replacing your main residence and your previous main home was sold within 36 months of completing the new purchase.
If you weren't present in the UK for at least 183 days during the 12 months before your purchase, you're treated as a non-UK resident for SDLT purposes, and a 2% surcharge usually applies on top of any other rates that are due — including the higher rate for additional properties, or first-time buyer relief, where relevant.
| Portion of price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £150,000 | 0% |
| £150,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| Above £250,000 | 5% |
Worked example: a freehold commercial property bought for £275,000 — 0% on the first £150,000, 2% on the next £100,000 (£2,000), 5% on the final £25,000 (£1,250). Total SDLT = £3,250.
For a new non-residential lease, SDLT is charged on both the lease premium (using the table above) and the net present value (NPV) of the rent, calculated separately then added together. There's no SDLT on rent where the NPV is below £150,000; 1% applies on the portion from £150,001 to £5 million, and 2% above that.
The total value you pay SDLT on — sometimes called the "consideration" — is usually just the price you pay for the property or land. But it can include other things too, such as goods, works or services given in exchange, the release of a debt, or taking on a debt (including the value of any outstanding mortgage you take over from the seller). If your transaction is more complicated than a straightforward cash purchase, it's worth getting proper advice on exactly what counts.
You (or your solicitor, agent or conveyancer on your behalf) must send an SDLT return to HMRC and pay the tax within 14 days of completion. If you have a solicitor handling the purchase, they'll almost always file the return and pay the tax for you on completion day, then simply add it to their fees. If nobody is doing this for you, you're responsible for filing the return and paying the tax yourself within that 14-day window — missing it can mean penalties and interest.
A handful of situations have their own distinct SDLT rules and calculations, rather than following the standard bands above:
SDLT can still be due even when a property isn't being bought in the usual sense — if ownership is transferred to you in exchange for any form of payment, such as taking on a mortgage. HMRC has separate guidance covering transfers resulting from marriage, civil partnerships or moving in together; on divorce, separation or dissolving a civil partnership; transfers of jointly owned property; where a larger share is given as a gift; property given as a gift or left in a will; and transfers to or from a company. The right treatment depends heavily on the exact circumstances, so it's worth checking the specific HMRC guidance for your situation.
If you buy through a shared ownership scheme run by an approved public body (a local housing authority, housing association, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, or similar), you can choose between two ways of paying SDLT:
Various SDLT reliefs can reduce the amount you pay, including for: first-time buyers; building companies buying an individual's home as part of a deal; employers buying an employee's house; local councils making compulsory purchases; property developers providing amenities to communities; companies transferring property to another company in the same group; charities buying for charitable purposes; right to buy properties; registered providers of social housing; Crown employees; and property investment funds such as PAIFs and CoACSs. You must still submit an SDLT return to claim a relief, even where no tax ends up being due — and multiple dwellings relief can no longer be claimed.
You don't have to pay SDLT, or file a return at all, if: no money or other payment changes hands for the transfer; the property is left to you in a will; the transfer happens because of divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership; you buy a freehold for less than £40,000; you take a new or assigned lease of 7 years or more where the premium is under £40,000 and the annual rent is under £1,000; you take a lease of under 7 years where the amount paid is below the relevant SDLT threshold; or you use an alternative property finance arrangement (for example, to comply with Sharia law) where the finance provider pays the SDLT instead.
You may be able to get some or all of your SDLT back if, for example: you paid the higher rate on a new main home but have since sold your previous one; you paid the non-UK resident surcharge but have since become a UK resident; you were entitled to a relief or exemption you didn't claim at the time; you paid residential rates when non-residential rates should have applied; or you simply made a mistake in your own calculation, or paid HMRC too much by accident.
To claim, every buyer on the original purchase needs to be included in the claim. If you use an agent to claim on your behalf, you're still personally responsible for checking the claim is correct — you'll have to repay the refund in full, plus any interest or penalties, if it later turns out to be wrong. HMRC usually pays a valid refund directly into your bank account within 15 working days, though they may write to you first if they need more information.
This calculator is built to reflect current HMRC rules, but for the full legal detail — or to double-check a specific scenario — these official gov.uk and HMRC pages are the primary sources:
Other calculators on this site that are often useful alongside an SDLT estimate: