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Stamp Duty Calculator

Plus full Q&A on stamp duty land tax

stamp duty calculator
Helen Saxon | Edited by Martin Lewis
Updated 11 September 2019

Stamp duty can add many thousands of pounds to homebuyers' costs. The rules and rates have been changed a number of times in recent years, and for some first-time buyers – including shared ownership – stamp duty has been abolished.

In this guide

Calculate Stamp Duty

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, Scotland uses different rate bandings, and Wales uses different ones again.

Click the relevant tab for where in the UK you're buying.

What is stamp duty?

Stamp duty land tax (or land and buildings transaction tax in Scotland and land transaction tax in Wales) is a lump-sum tax that anyone buying a property or land costing more than a set amount has to pay. The rate you'll pay the tax at varies based on the price of the property and the type (we'll focus on residential buildings, rather than commercial).

Stamp duty was reformed in 2014 – the slab system (where you'd pay a single rate on the ENTIRE property price) was swept away, and in its place we now have a more progressive system.

  • If you're in England or Northern Ireland...

    England & Northern Ireland

    Under the current system – which applies to England & Northern Ireland – you'll only pay the rate for the proportion of the property that's at that rate. It's quite complex, so here's an example to better illustrate how it works:

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

    You pay nothing below £125,000.
    You pay 2% on between £125,001 and £250,000, which is £2,500.
    You pay 5% on the value of the property between £250,001 and £500,000, which is £12,500    .

    So in total this means you'll pay £15,000 (£0 + £2,500 + £12,500).

    Stamp duty in England & Northern Ireland
    PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE (1)
    		 RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES (1)
    Up to £125,000 0% 3% (2)
    £125,001 – £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) Properties up to £40,000 are exempt from stamp duty. Properties between £40,001 & £125,000 will be charged stamp duty on the full purchase price.

    As the price you pay for a new property increases, so do the rates of stamp duty. You pay a percentage of the cost, and the rate payable leaps up at a set of thresholds – but, you only pay the proportion of the purchase price that's actually above the thresholds at the higher rate.

    People buying an additional property (ie, in addition to any they already own) will be penalised in the form of an extra stamp duty charge on any property costing more than £40,000.

    Under stamp duty rules that took effect in 2014 you pay different rates for different proportions of the property price. This will mean that the following additional property stamp duty rates will apply on each portion of the purchase price on buy-to-let and second homes.

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

    However, the system's different if you're a first-time buyer buying a property in England or Northern Ireland worth up to £500,000. You'll pay zero stamp duty on the first £300,000 of any home costing up to £500,000 (and only 5% on any proportion between £300k and £500k). This means the new stamp duty rates for first-time buyers are:

    Up to £300,000 purchase price: 0% stamp duty

    £300,001 to £500,000: 5% (on that portion of the purchase price only)

    Using the example above, for a first-time buyer purchasing a property worth £500,000, the calculations will be slightly different:

    You pay nothing below £300,000.
    You pay 5% on the value of the property between £300,001 and £500,000, which is £10,000.

    So in total this means you'll pay £10,000 (£0 + £10,000).

    Stamp duty for first-time buyers
    PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON FIRST PROPERTY (1) RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES (1)
    Up to £300,000 0% See the table above as you will no longer be a first-time buyer (for additional properties)
    £300,001 – £500,000 5% See the table above as you will no longer be a first-time buyer (for additional properties)
    (1) Rate applies to that portion of the purchase price.

    If you buy a first home costing more than £500,000, you won't benefit from any change and will be buying under the standard system (see above).

    The Autumn 2018 Budget extended the stamp duty tax exemption to first-time buyers purchasing shared ownership properties valued at up to £500,000. Again, if the property is worth more than that, you won't be exempt from paying stamp duty, even though you'll own less than the full £500,000.

    Who counts as a first-time buyer?

    A first-time buyer is someone who's never owned a property, whether bought or inherited, anywhere in the world. So if you inherited your late grandma's holiday home in Spain, even though you sold it straightaway, you won't count as a first-time buyer under these rules.

    You also won't count as a first-time buyer if you're buying your first property with the intention to let it out.

  • If you're 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 one the rest of the UK uses, the main difference is the thresholds it uses are at different rates.

    Here's an example of how the new Scottish system works, for an example-property priced at £300,000.

    You pay nothing below £145,000.
    You pay 2% on between £145,001 and £250,000, which is £2,100.
    You pay 5% on between £250,001 and £300,000, which is £2,500.

    So in total this means you'll pay £4,600 (£0 + £2,100 + £2,500).

    If you're a first-time buyer, you'll pay no LBTT on the price of a property below £175,000.

    Land & buildings transaction tax rate
    PURCHASE PRICE RATE ON MAIN RESIDENCE – ON THAT PORTION OF THE PURCHASE PRICE RATE FOR ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES – ON THAT PORTION OF THE PURCHASE PRICE
    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%

    Correct as of Apr 2019

  • If you're in Wales...

    The Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) is responsible for collecting and managing Land Transaction Tax (LTT), which replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales last year.

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

    Here's an example of how the new Welsh system works, for a single residential property priced at £300,000 and filed at main rates.

    You pay nothing below £180,000.
    You pay 3.5% on between £180,001 and £250,000, which is £2,450.
    You pay 5% on between £250,001 and £300,000, which is £2,500.

    So in total this means you'll pay £4,950 (£0 + £2,450 + £2,500).

    WRA have a simple guide to higher rates. They also have an LTT calculator. 

How and when do I pay stamp duty?

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 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 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 call up your bank, use HM Revenue & Customs' bank details, and pay it. This normally takes three working days, so take this into account and don't miss the deadline.

    • Other ways to pay.

      If you don't have online or phone banking set up, you can pay by card over the web (though there's a charge for credit cards), giro in most banks or by cheque in post office branches or post – though the last three options 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 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. You're also able to submit a paper return, the info is available through the link.

    • Find your transaction reference.

      It's nine 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 call up your bank or log on, use Revenue Scotland's bank details, and pay it. You can use Faster Payments, BACS or CHAPS. Remember if you're using BACS that the transfer could take three working days, so don't miss your payment date.

    • Other ways to pay.

      If you don't have online or phone banking set up, you can pay by cheque. You must send the cheque to Registers of Scotland.

  • 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. The solicitor will usually be able to do this online.

    If you need to pay this 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 site and submit a paper tax return registering the transaction. Only solicitors and other agents can file and pay online. 

    • Find your Unique Transaction Reference Number (UTRN)

    If you submit a paper return you will not be given a UTRN immediately- it will be sent to you once your return has been processed by WRA. To make sure your tax is paid on time you should use the following reference number: "Postcode of lead buyer \ Surname or organisation name of lead buyer". For example - CF379EH \ Bloggs

    • Pay online or by cheque

    Just as you might move money to a pal's account, you can call up your bank or log on, use the Welsh Revenue Authority's bank details and pay it. 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 Welsh Revenue Authority must have your payment four working days before the payment due date so it can be processed.

    Cheques need to be made out to the Welsh Revenue Authority with payment reference number on the reverse of the cheque.

    If you are paying by cheque, the WRA must receive it 10 working days before the payment due date in order to process the cheque in time.

    Cheques should be posted to:

    Welsh Revenue Authority
    PO Box 110
    Pontypridd
    CF37 9EH

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 around £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.

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