Stamp Duty Calculator
2026 — SDLT Rates

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tiered tax charged on residential property purchases in England and Northern Ireland. Unlike a flat-rate tax, SDLT uses a progressive band system — you only pay the higher rate on the portion of the price that falls within each band, not on the entire purchase price. This means a property costing £300,000 is not taxed at a single rate; instead, each slice of the price is taxed at the rate that applies to that particular band.

Our calculator applies the current 2026/27 SDLT bands automatically. Enter the full purchase price of the property you are buying, then select your buyer type. The tool instantly splits the price across all relevant thresholds, calculates the tax due in each band and totals everything into a single figure. You will also see the effective tax rate — the total SDLT expressed as a percentage of the purchase price — which is useful for comparing the real cost across different property values.

If you are a first-time buyer purchasing a property priced at or below £500,000, select the "First-Time Buyer" option. First-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate threshold to £300,000, meaning you pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000 and just 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. This relief can save you thousands compared to standard rates. If the property costs more than £500,000, the relief does not apply and standard rates are used on the entire price.

For anyone purchasing an additional property — a second home, holiday let or buy-to-let investment — the calculator adds the 5% surcharge on top of every standard band. This surcharge applies from the very first pound and is calculated on the full purchase price, which significantly increases the total SDLT bill. Select "Additional Property" to see the combined standard-plus-surcharge rates broken down band by band.

Once you hit calculate, the results panel shows the total SDLT due, the effective rate and a full band-by-band breakdown table. Use this information alongside our mortgage calculator and moving costs calculator to build a complete picture of what your property purchase will cost from start to finish.

Stamp Duty Land Tax must be paid within 14 days of the completion date — the day ownership legally transfers to you. In practice, your solicitor or licensed conveyancer handles the entire process: they complete the SDLT return, submit it to HMRC electronically and arrange payment from the funds held on your behalf. You do not need to contact HMRC yourself, but you should confirm with your solicitor that the return has been filed on time, as late submissions attract automatic penalties and interest. Use our conveyancing costs calculator to estimate solicitor fees alongside your SDLT bill.

If you are buying through a shared ownership scheme, you can choose to pay SDLT on the full market value of the property upfront, or pay in stages — known as a market value election. Paying upfront means you will not owe additional SDLT when you staircase (buy further shares), but it does mean a larger bill on day one. Your solicitor can advise which option works best for your circumstances.

Transfers of property between married couples or civil partners are generally exempt from SDLT, provided the transfer is not part of a sale or involves a third party. This means adding your spouse to the title of your home, or transferring the property as part of a divorce settlement, will not trigger a tax charge. However, if you are gifting a property to someone who is not your spouse or civil partner and they take on an existing mortgage, SDLT may be due on the outstanding mortgage amount.

If a company or corporate body purchases a residential property costing more than £500,000, an additional higher rate of 17% may apply to the entire purchase price under the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) rules. This is separate from the standard additional property surcharge and is designed to discourage companies from buying high-value homes for personal use. Companies purchasing lower-value residential property still pay the standard rates plus the 5% surcharge.

For first-time buyers, the relief available from April 2025 is worth up to £5,000 in savings compared to standard rates. To qualify, you must never have owned a freehold or leasehold interest in a residential property anywhere in the world, and the property must be priced at £500,000 or below. If you are buying jointly, all purchasers must be first-time buyers — if even one person has previously owned a property, the relief is lost for the entire purchase. Use our first-time buyer stamp duty calculator to see your exact savings, or check how much deposit you need with our house deposit calculator.

Beyond SDLT, buying a home involves several other costs that catch people off guard — solicitor fees, surveys, removal costs and mortgage arrangement fees all add up. Before committing to a property, use our moving costs calculator to get a full breakdown of the total cost of moving, and our mortgage calculator to understand your monthly repayments and total interest over the loan term.