How UK stamp duty works in 2026/27
Stamp duty in the UK is not a single tax. It is three separate progressive taxes operating in parallel across the three parts of Great Britain: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in Scotland, and Land Transaction Tax (LTT) in Wales. Each has its own bands, its own thresholds, and its own surcharges. The calculator above lets you switch between them and applies the correct rules automatically.
All three systems share a common shape. For a property of price P, the tax is calculated band-by-band: for each band (bᵢ, rᵢ) the portion of the price that falls within that band is taxed at the band's rate. The first band starts at zero and is always zero-rated, so cheap properties pay nothing. Above the zero-rated threshold the rate steps up progressively, with the highest band catching the top portion of any very expensive property.
The 2026/27 SDLT bands — England and Northern Ireland
| Price band | Rate |
|---|---|
| £0 – £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% |
So a £400,000 standard purchase pays 0% on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 (=£2,500), and 5% on the remaining £150,000 (=£7,500). Total SDLT: £10,000.
First-time buyer relief
First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland get enhanced relief on properties priced up to £500,000. They pay 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,000 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief disappears entirely and standard rates apply — this is the cliff edge that catches first-time buyers of more expensive homes.
Scotland offers a parallel relief: first-time buyers pay no LBTT on the first £175,000 of properties up to £600,000. Wales has no first-time buyer relief on LTT.
Additional property surcharge
Buy a second home, a buy-to-let, or any property that is not a replacement for your main residence and you pay an extra surcharge on top of every band. As of 2026/27 the surcharges are:
- England & NI (SDLT): +5%
- Scotland (LBTT): +6%
- Wales (LTT): +4%
That surcharge applies to each band — so a £400,000 additional-property purchase in England pays 5% on the £0-£125k band, 7% on the £125k-£250k band, 10% on the £250k-£925k band, and so on. The calculator applies this automatically when you select "Additional property".
Non-UK resident surcharge
Since 1 April 2021, non-UK residents buying residential property in England or Northern Ireland pay an additional 2% SDLT surcharge. Scotland applies a 4% non-resident surcharge on LBTT. Wales has no non-resident surcharge on LTT. This is applied on top of both the standard rate and the additional-property surcharge. Tick the "Non-UK resident" box in the calculator to model this.
The Scottish LBTT bands — 2026/27
| Price band | Rate |
|---|---|
| £0 – £145,000 | 0% |
| £145,001 – £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 – £325,000 | 5% |
| £325,001 – £750,000 | 10% |
| Above £750,000 | 12% |
The Welsh LTT bands — 2026/27
| Price band | Rate |
|---|---|
| £0 – £225,000 | 0% |
| £225,001 – £400,000 | 6% |
| £400,001 – £750,000 | 7.5% |
| £750,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% |
Worked example — first-time buyer in Leeds, £280,000
A first-time buyer purchasing a £280,000 home in England falls entirely within the relief zone. They pay 0% on the first £300,000, so the entire £280,000 is at 0%. Total SDLT: £0. The same purchase by a moving-home buyer would pay 0% on £125k, 2% on £125k (=£2,500), and 5% on £30k (=£1,500), totalling £4,000 — a £4,000 difference that the relief is designed to deliver.
What this calculator does not cover
This calculator models the standard residential SDLT, LBTT, and LTT regimes for the 2024/25, 2025/26, and 2026/27 tax years. It does not cover commercial property rates, non-residential SDLT, mixed-use transactions, multiple dwellings relief, transactions involving linked purchases, or the special rules for shared ownership purchases. If your situation involves any of these, you need a solicitor or tax adviser rather than a web calculator.
The data backing this tool is sourced from the official publications listed on our methodology page and is updated within one week of any rate change announced by HM Treasury, Revenue Scotland, or the Welsh Revenue Authority.