1. MoneySavingExpert.com
  2. Mortgages

In this guide

Tip Email

FREE Weekly MoneySaving email 

For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!

Show more
Show less
FAQs Privacy Past Emails Unsubscribe
FAQs Privacy Past Emails Unsubscribe
stamp duty calculator

Stamp Duty Calculator

Plus full Q&A, incl full info on stamp duty holiday up to £500,000

Kit Sproson
Kit Sproson | Edited by Johanna Noble
Updated 1 April 2021

The current stamp duty holiday has been extended until the end of June in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, meaning many won't have to pay stamp duty or as much as they would have (in Scotland it's now ended). This guide's got all you need to know about how stamp duty works, if you'll need to pay it, and what happens when the holiday ends. The guide also includes a free stamp duty calculator.

Note: We're using stamp duty as a generic term here for ease because that is what so many people refer to it as – we know that it's called something different in Scotland (land and buildings transaction tax) and Wales (land transaction tax).

Tip Email

FREE Weekly MoneySaving email 

For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!

Show more
Show less
FAQs Privacy Past Emails Unsubscribe
FAQs Privacy Past Emails Unsubscribe

What is stamp duty?

When you buy a property or land, you usually pay tax on it. While often referred to as stamp duty, that's only the name in England and Northern Ireland – it's different in Scotland and Wales, where it's known as 'land and buildings transaction tax' and 'land transaction tax' respectively.

Since 2014, all the home nations have had a progressive stamp duty rate system. This means that instead of paying a single rate on the ENTIRE property price, depending on the cost of the property you're buying you might end up paying one rate on a certain portion of the property and a different rate on another.

Stamp Duty Calculator

The rate of stamp duty you'll pay depends on where in the UK you're buying a property. England and Northern Ireland have the same rates, while Scotland and Wales use different rate bandings.

This calculator shows how much stamp duty is due on a MAIN RESIDENCE ONLY (excluding buy-to-let and additional properties), based on where you're buying.

Important: This calculator will show what stamp duty you'll pay in England, Northern Ireland and Wales until 30 June 2021. From July, stamp duty rates will be tapered in England and Northern Ireland, while they will go back to the standard pre-coronavirus rates in Wales.

The stamp duty holiday in Scotland ended on 31 March, so this calculator will show what rate you'll pay from 1 April.

Stamp duty holiday in Eng, NI & Wales extended until 30 June – how it works

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the threshold at which you start paying stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland, land and buildings transaction tax in Scotland and land transaction tax in Wales was temporarily increased.

This stamp duty 'holiday' has been extended in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, but not in Scotland. Here's a breakdown of how the stamp duty holiday works in each country.

Stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland extended until end of June (and tapered after that)

The stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland was originally scheduled to end in March 2021, but it has now been extended. This is how it'll work:

  • Until 30 June. No stamp duty will be due on the first £500,000 of any primary residential property.
  • Between 1 July and 30 September. No stamp duty will be due on the first £250,000 of any primary residential property.
  • From 1 October. The stamp duty holiday will end on 30 September, meaning that normal stamp duty rates will apply from October onwards.

You need to have completed your property purchase by 30 September to benefit from the stamp duty holiday. If you exchange on or before 30 September, but complete after 30 September, then you'll have missed the deadline and will need to pay the normal rate of stamp duty.

Stamp duty holiday in Wales extended until end of June

In July 2020, the threshold at which you start paying land transaction tax in Wales was temporarily increased to £250,000. This stamp duty holiday was set to end on 31 March 2021, but it's now set to end on 30 June 2021.

  • Until 30 June. No land transaction tax will be due on the first £250,000 of any primary residential property.
  • From 1 July. The stamp duty holiday will end on 30 June, meaning that normal stamp duty rates will apply from July onwards.

You need to have completed by 30 June to benefit from the stamp duty holiday. If you exchange on or before 30 June, but complete after 30 June, then you'll have missed the deadline and will need to pay the normal rate of stamp duty.

Stamp duty holiday in Scotland ENDED on 31 March

The stamp duty (land and buildings transaction tax) hoIiday in Scotland lasted from July 2020 until 31 March 2021. Since 1 April, the rate at which you pay land and buildings transaction tax has gone back to its pre-coronavirus rate (during the holiday you didn't have to pay anything up to £250,000). 

You need to have completed by the 31 March to benefit from the stamp duty holiday in Scotland. If you exchanged on or before 31 March, but completed after 31 March, then you'll have missed the deadline and will need to pay the normal rate of stamp duty.

  • I'm buying an additional property – will the stamp duty holiday benefit me?

     Yes, however you will still have to pay some stamp duty. This is how it works in:

    • England and Northern Ireland. If you're buying an additional property you will also benefit from the changes to stamp duty, however not to the same extent as those buying a main residential property.

      Here you'll pay 3% on top of the standard rate you'd normally be charged (unless the additional property is bought for £40,000 or less, in which case you'll be charged the standard stamp duty rate). For example, for those buying an additional property in England or Northern Ireland, you will now pay 3% on anything up to £500,000 (until 30 June), and 8% on the portion above that up to £925,000.

      Under normal stamp duty thresholds, the rate is 3% on anything up to £125,000, 5% on anything between £125,001 and £250,000, and 8% on anything between £250,001 and £925,000.
    • Wales. The rates and bands for additional property buyers have not changed in Wales. This means you pay an extra 4% on any tax band your property falls under. You can see what tax you'll pay for an additional property in Wales by using the table below.

Stamp duty rates in England and Northern Ireland

In England and Northern Ireland, no stamp duty is due on the first £500,000 of a property (provided it's your main residence, it excludes additional properties) until 1 July 2021.

Here are the stamp duty rates until then:

Stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland (until 30 June)
PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE (1)
 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES (2)
Up to £500,000 0% 3%
£500,001 – £925,000 5% 8%
£925,001 – £1,500,000 10% 13%
£1,500,001 + 12% 15%
(1) Rate applies to that portion of the purchase price. (2) Additional properties bought for less than £40,000 will be charged the main residence rate of stamp duty.

1. Let's assume you're buying a property for £450,000...

You pay nothing below £500,000. So this means you'll pay no stamp duty at all.

2. Let's assume you're buying a property for £650,000...

You pay nothing below £500,000.
You pay 5% on between £500,000 and £925,000, which is £7,500 on a £650,000 property.
So in total, this means you'll pay £7,500.

People buying an additional property (ie, in addition to any they already own) that costs more than £40,000 are subject to the higher stamp duty rate. So if you bought a second home worth £100,000, you would pay 3% stamp duty on the £100,000 purchase price (see the table above).

England & Northern Ireland stamp duty rates from 1 July

From 1 July 2021, the threshold at which you start paying stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland will decrease to £250,000.

This is what the stamp duty rates will be from 1 July until the end of September:

Stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland (from 1 July until 30 September)
PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE (1)
 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES (2)
Up to £250,000 (up to £300,000 for first-time buyers) 0% 3%
£250,001 – £925,000 5% 8%
£925,001 – £1,500,000 10% 13%
£1,500,001 + 12% 15%
(1) Rate applies to that portion of the purchase price. (2) Additional properties bought for less than £40,000 will be charged the main residence rate of stamp duty.

1. Let's assume you're buying a property for £250,000...

You pay nothing below £250,000. So this means you'll pay no stamp duty at all.

2. Let's assume you're buying a property for £500,000...

You pay nothing below £250,000.
You pay 5% on between £250,000 and £500,000.
So in total, this means you'll pay £12,500 (a saving of £2,500 compared to the normal threshold).

  • What will stamp duty be from 1 October?

    This is what the stamp duty rate in England and Northern Ireland will be from 1 October 2021:

    Stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland (from 1 October)
    PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE (1)
    		 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES (2)
    Up to £125,000 (£300,000 for first-time buyers (3))  0% 3%
    £125,0001 – £250,000 2% 5%
    £250,001 – £925,000 5% 8%
    £925,001 – £1,500,000 10% 13%
    £1,500,001 + 12% 15%
    (1) Rate applies to that portion of the purchase price. (2) Additional properties bought for less than £40,000 will be charged the main residence rate of stamp duty. (3) The £300,000 first-time buyer stamp duty threshold does not apply if the property you are buying costs more than £500,000 – if it does, you'll pay the normal rate of stamp duty.

Stamp duty rates in Scotland

It's not actually called stamp duty in Scotland anymore. A reform brought in by the Scottish Government in April 2015 means it's now referred to as 'land and buildings transaction tax' (LBTT).

However, while the name's changed, the principle hasn't. It's still a lump-sum tax that anyone buying a property or land costing more than a set amount has to pay. And it's a remarkably similar system to the ones in the rest of the UK, the main difference is the thresholds it uses are at different rates.

The Scottish Government did intro a temporary 'stamp duty' holiday between July 2020 and March 2021, but this has now ended. Since 1 April 2021, this is the rate of land and building transaction tax you'll need to pay: 

Land & buildings transaction tax rate (from 1 April)
PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE
 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES (1)
Up to £145,000 (£175,000 for first-time buyers) 0% 4%
£145,001 – £250,000 2% 6%
£250,001 – £325,000 5% 9%
£325,001 – £750,000 10% 14%
£750,001 + 12% 16%
(1) Additional properties bought for less than £40,000 will be charged the main residence rate of stamp duty.

Stamp duty rates in Wales

The Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) is responsible for collecting and managing land transaction tax (LTT) in Wales.

LTT works similarly to the old stamp duty system, but the Welsh Government has set the thresholds for the tax bands at different rates.

The threshold at which you start paying land transaction tax was temporarily increased in response to coronavirus, so until 30 June 2021 you won't pay any on the first £250,000 of a main residential property in Wales. These are the current rates:

Land transaction tax rate (until 30 June)
PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE
 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES
Up to £250,000 0% 4% (but 7.5% between £180,001 and £250,000)
£250,001 – £400,000 5% 9%
£400,001 – £750,000 7.5% 11.5%
£750,001 – £1,500,000 10% 14%
£1,500,001 + 12% 16%

Here's an example of how the Welsh system will work until the end of June, for a single residential property priced at £300,000 and filed at main rates.

You pay nothing below £250,000.
You pay 5% on between £250,001 and £300,000, which is £2,500.

So in total, this means you'll pay £2,500 (£0 + £2,500).

  • What will land transaction tax be from 1 July?

    This is what the land transaction tax rate in Wales will be from 1 July 2021:

    Land transaction tax rate (from 1 July)
    PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE
    		 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES
    Up to £180,000 0% 4%
    £180,001 – £250,000 3.5% 7.5%
    £250,001 – £400,000 5% 9%
    £400,001 – £750,000 7.5% 11.5%
    £750,001 – £1,500,000 10% 14%
    £1,500,001 + 12% 16%

How much stamp duty does a first-time buyer pay?

Currently first-time buyers across in England, Northern Ireland and Wales benefit from the stamp duty holiday in the same way that other homebuyers do, as detailed above. 

In England and Northern Ireland that means...

  • Until 30 June. First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland won't pay stamp duty on the first £500,000 of a main residential property.
  • Between 1 July and 30 September. No stamp duty for first-time buyers on the first £300,000 of a main residential property.
  • From 1 October. General stamp duty rates in England and Northern Ireland will revert to their pre-coronavirus rates, but there will be no change for first-time buyers, who will continue to pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000 of a property (£300,000 was the pre-coronavirus stamp duty threshold for FTBs).

In Wales that means...

  • Until 30 June. No land transaction tax is due on the first £250,000 of a property until 30 June.
  • From 1 July. First-time buyer stamp duty rates will revert to their pre-coronavirus thresholds. This means that first-time buyers will pay no land transaction tax on the first £180,000 of a property.

How much stamp duty does a first-time buyer pay in Scotland?

In Scotland first-time buyer stamp duty rates reverted to their pre-coronavirus thresholds on 1 April 2021. This means: 

  • From 1 April. First-time buyers will pay no land and buildings transaction tax on the first £175,000 of a property.

When must I pay stamp duty and how can I do it?

when to pay stamp duty

The crucial thing to know is that if you're buying in England or Northern Ireland, you have 14 days from the date of completion/date of entry (when all the contracts are signed and dated, and you get the keys – read our Buying a home guide for a full timeline) to pay stamp duty or transaction tax. Take longer, and you could face a fine and possibly interest on top, so don't!

Buyers used to have 30 days to pay stamp duty, but new legislation reducing this to 14 days came into effect in March 2019.

In reality, your solicitor will probably sort this out and push you to pay the bill straightaway – in fact, most tend to want their cash before completing the property purchase for you, just in case you then can't or don't pay them.

However, it's legally your responsibility to ensure your stamp duty/transaction tax is paid. If you are doing this yourself, click the questions to see the process.

  • How do I pay stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland?

    In case your solicitor doesn't do this for you, here's what you need to do...

    • Find your unique transaction reference number (UTRN)

      It's 11 characters long and found on your submission receipt if you have filed online, or on your paper stamp duty return.

    • Pay online or by phone banking?

      Just as you might move money to a pal's account, you can transfer the money online or by phone using HM Revenue & Customs' bank details. Bacs payments normally take three working days, so take this into account and don't miss the deadline, while CHAPS payments usually arrive on the same working day.

    • Other ways to pay

      If you don't have online or phone banking set up, you can pay by debit card (but not credit card), by cheque or cash in most banks, and by cheque in post office branches or by post – though the last two options will require you to present a payslip.

  • How do I pay land and buildings transaction tax in Scotland?

    The process is similar to that in England and Northern Ireland, and again your solicitor is likely to do this for you. However, unlike in the rest of the UK, you're not paying HM Revenue & Customs, you need to pay Revenue Scotland instead, and you have 30 days to pay up, as opposed to 14.

    If your solicitor doesn't do this for you, here's how you can do it yourself...

    • Submit an online return registering the transaction

      You'll need to go to Revenue Scotland's site to do this. Because of coronavirus, it's not currently possible to submit a paper return.

    • Find your transaction reference

      It's 13 characters long, beginning with 'RS'. You can find it on the receipt for your online return.

    • Pay online or by phone banking

      Just as you might move money to a pal's account, you can transfer the money online or by phone using Revenue Scotland's bank details. You can use Faster Payments, Bacs or CHAPS. Remember, if you're using Bacs, the transfer could take three working days, so don't miss your payment date.

    • Other ways to pay

      Because of coronavirus, Revenue Scotland is not currently accepting post, including cheques, so you'll need to pay your LBTT using one of the methods described above.

  • How do I pay land transaction tax in Wales?

    In Wales, land transaction tax is paid to the Welsh Revenue Authority. This is payable within 30 days of you completing on your property.

    If you have a solicitor, they'll usually file your return and pay the tax on your behalf if you ask them to and add the amount to the sum you pay them.

    If you need to pay land transaction tax yourself, here's how to do it...

    • First you need to submit a return registering the transaction

      You'll need to go to the Welsh Revenue Authority's (WRA) site and submit a paper tax return registering the transaction. Even though it's referred to as a 'paper' return, you can actually submit it online – and since the coronavirus pandemic started, it's been recommended that you submit it this way (rather than via post).
    • Find your unique transaction reference number (UTRN)

      After you've submitted your paper return, you will not be given a UTRN immediately. It will be sent to you once your return has been processed by the WRA.

      If you've not got enough time to wait for your UTRN to be issued, you can instead use the following payment reference number: "Postcode of land \ surname of buyer". For example: "CF379EH \ Bloggs".
    • Pay online

      Just as you might move money to a pal's account, you can transfer the money online or by phone using the WRA's bank details. You can use Faster Payments, Bacs or CHAPS. Remember to include the reference (as explained above) in the payment reference section.

      If using BACS, the WRA must have your payment four working days before the payment due date, so that it can be processed.
    • Pay by cheque

      The WRA is not currently accepting payments via cheque because of coronavirus, so you should pay your land transaction tax via one of the methods described above.

Can I add stamp duty to my mortgage?

The simple answer here is that it's best that you don't, but many people find that they have to.

To add the cost of stamp duty to your loan means a bigger mortgage debt. So, say you needed a £180,000 mortgage to purchase a house costing £300,000, but wanted to add the stamp duty, you'd need to request borrowing of £185,000 (in England, Wales or Northern Ireland), then use your 'extra' deposit money to pay the stamp duty.

There are two main things to consider here. Firstly, as mortgages tend to be taken out over a long term (25 years or more), that's normally how long the stamp duty borrowing will last too. Over a 25-year term at a rate of 5%, that extra £5,000 borrowing will cost about £8,500 in interest, so it's vital to be aware of the cost.

Secondly, this could affect your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) – the measure of how much of a property's value you are borrowing. The most competitive deals require a maximum LTV of 60% – yet in the example above, adding the stamp duty would push you from 60% to almost 62%, so be careful – speak to a mortgage broker to see if it's the right decision.

Ready to get a mortgage? We've lots more guides, tools & tips to help…

illustration
Share this guide
MSE Forum

Have your say in our forum!

Stamp Duty Calculator

Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com

MSE Tools & Calculators

Clever ways to calculate your finances 

Cheap Energy Club

We ensure you're on the cheapest tariff

Tool

Loans Eligibility

All of the top unsecured personal loans

Tool

Credit Card Eligibility

Tools for different credit card types & purchases

Tool

Mortgage best buys

Compares thousands of mortgages

Tool

Mortgage Calculator

Eight calcs for all your mortgage sums

Tool

Free complaints tool

Resolver - the automated complaints system

Tool
Tools and Calculators

What the * means above
If a link has an * by it, that means it is an affiliated link and therefore it helps MoneySavingExpert stay free to use, as it is tracked to us. If you go through it, it can sometimes result in a payment or benefit to the site. It's worth noting this means the third party used may be named on any credit agreements.

You shouldn’t notice any difference and the link will never negatively impact the product. Plus the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by these links. We aim to look at all available products. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the top deal, it is still included in exactly the same way, just with a non-paying link. For more details, read How This Site Is Financed.

MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited (registered in England No. 3157344) is MoneySupermarket House, St. David's Park, Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited.