What Is Stamp Duty and How Much Will You Pay?

Stamp Duty is the tax that ruins a lot of otherwise lovely spreadsheets. You've saved up a deposit, you've found the flat, you've got a mortgage agreement in principle, and then someone mentions "you'll also need about £8,000 for stamp duty" and the whole plan wobbles.

The good news: it's more predictable than it looks. Stamp Duty has clear rules, published thresholds, and generous discounts for first-time buyers. You can work out almost exactly what you'll owe in five minutes.

This article walks through what Stamp Duty is in 2026, how much you'll pay on different property prices, who gets a discount, and the traps to watch for.

What Stamp Duty actually is

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax you pay to HMRC when you buy a property or land in England or Northern Ireland above a certain price. It's a one-off cost due at completion, which means the day you officially own the home.

Scotland has its own version called Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales has Land Transaction Tax (LTT). The principles are similar but the thresholds and rates are different. This article focuses on Stamp Duty in England and Northern Ireland.

Stamp Duty is not negotiable. It's a tax, not a fee, and it's set by law.

How the rates work in 2026

Stamp Duty is "banded". That means you pay different percentages on different slices of the property price, not one flat rate on the whole thing.

For a standard home purchase (not a first-time buyer, not an additional property), the 2026 rates are:

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%

Over £1.5 million

12%

The important thing to understand: only the part of the price in each band gets charged that band's rate. So a £300,000 home doesn't pay 5% on the whole thing, it pays 0% on the first £125k, 2% on the next £125k, and 5% on the remaining £50k.

That works out to £5,000. Still painful, but not £15,000.

Worked examples on typical UK prices

A £200,000 home, standard buyer

0% on the first £125,000 = £0
2% on the next £75,000 = £1,500
Total: £1,500

A £350,000 home, standard buyer

0% on £125,000 = £0
2% on £125,000 = £2,500
5% on £100,000 = £5,000
Total: £7,500

A £500,000 home, standard buyer

0% on £125,000 = £0
2% on £125,000 = £2,500
5% on £250,000 = £12,500
Total: £15,000

A £750,000 home, standard buyer

0% on £125,000 = £0
2% on £125,000 = £2,500
5% on £500,000 = £25,000
Total: £27,500

The first-time buyer discount

If you (and anyone else buying with you) are all first-time buyers, you get a chunky break on Stamp Duty. In 2026, first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay:

  • 0% on the first £300,000

  • 5% on anything between £300,001 and £500,000

  • No relief at all if the home costs over £500,000 (you pay standard rates on the whole thing)

Examples for first-time buyers:

  • £250,000 home: £0 Stamp Duty.

  • £300,000 home: £0 Stamp Duty.

  • £350,000 home: 5% on £50,000 = £2,500.

  • £450,000 home: 5% on £150,000 = £7,500.

  • £501,000 home: back to full standard rates, approx £15,050.

The £500,000 cliff edge is the most annoying feature of the whole system. Paying £501,000 means losing the entire first-time buyer relief.

To count as a first-time buyer, you (and everyone buying with you) must never have owned a property anywhere in the world, and you must intend to live in this one as your main home.

Second homes and buy-to-let

If you already own a home and you're buying another one, you pay a 3% surcharge on top of the standard rates, on every band. That includes buy-to-let, holiday homes, and second properties bought before you've sold the first one.

If you're buying a replacement main home but haven't sold the old one yet, you pay the surcharge at completion but can claim it back if you sell your old home within 36 months.

The surcharge stacks, so a £300,000 buy-to-let would owe standard Stamp Duty of £5,000 plus 3% on the whole £300,000 = £9,000 extra, for a total of £14,000.

Non-UK residents

If you're a non-UK resident buying residential property in England or Northern Ireland, there's an additional 2% surcharge on top of everything else. This kicks in if you've spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before completion.

When and how you actually pay it

Stamp Duty is due within 14 days of completion. In practice, your solicitor handles it. They ask you for the money before completion, hold it in a client account, and pay HMRC on your behalf.

You generally can't borrow Stamp Duty from your mortgage. It has to come from cash, on top of your deposit. That's why it matters so much when budgeting for a home purchase.

Always budget for Stamp Duty as a separate line item, the same way you budget for the deposit itself.

Common doubts

  • "What about Scotland and Wales?" Scotland uses LBTT and Wales uses LTT. Both have different thresholds and, in Scotland's case, a specific Additional Dwelling Supplement for second properties. Always check the relevant tax for your country before you budget.

  • "What if I'm gifted a property?" No Stamp Duty is usually owed if there's no mortgage being taken on. If you're assuming part of a mortgage, that portion counts as "consideration" and may be taxed.

  • "What about shared ownership?" You can either pay Stamp Duty on the full market value upfront, or on the share you're buying first and more later as you staircase. The right choice depends on your plans.

  • "Can I reclaim it if something changes?" Sometimes. The second-home surcharge can be reclaimed if you sell your old main home within 36 months. First-time buyer relief cannot be claimed retrospectively, so make sure it's applied at completion.

  • "Is Stamp Duty ever waived?" During past downturns, governments have temporarily raised thresholds or offered "holidays". Assume the current rules will apply unless you can see an announcement that changes them.

How to work out your bill in 3 minutes

1. Go to gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates.

2. Use the official Stamp Duty calculator at tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax.

3. Enter the price, your buyer type (first-time, standard, or second home) and completion date.

4. That number is what you'll actually owe. Add it to your cash needs before the deposit.

It's the same calculator your solicitor uses, so it's accurate enough to plan with.

Where Mona fits

Mona helps you plan the full cash pile you need to buy, not just the deposit. That means Stamp Duty, solicitor fees, survey, mortgage arrangement fees, moving costs and a float for the first month in the new place. She'll set you a realistic "ready to buy" target based on a specific property price, then keep the savings on track until you hit it.

This article is for education only and is not financial advice. For free, impartial guidance on Stamp Duty, use gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax and MoneyHelper.org.uk (run by the UK government's Money and Pensions Service). Your solicitor is the final word on your specific bill.

The bottom line

Stamp Duty is a one-off tax on buying a home in England and Northern Ireland. It uses banded rates, so you only pay each band's rate on the slice of the price that falls inside it. First-time buyers pay 0% up to £300,000 and nothing up to £500,000 once the relief is factored in. Second homes and buy-to-lets have a 3% surcharge.

The number is knowable. The trap is forgetting to budget for it.

Stamp Duty is a line item, not a surprise.

Before you make an offer on any UK property, run the price through the gov.uk Stamp Duty calculator, add the result to your cash-needed total, and make sure that number is sitting in your savings account, not just your spreadsheet.

Join Mona’s early access waitlist

Join the waitlist

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What Is Stamp Duty and How Much Will You Pay?

Stamp Duty is the tax that ruins a lot of otherwise lovely spreadsheets. You've saved up a deposit, you've found the flat, you've got a mortgage agreement in principle, and then someone mentions "you'll also need about £8,000 for stamp duty" and the whole plan wobbles.

The good news: it's more predictable than it looks. Stamp Duty has clear rules, published thresholds, and generous discounts for first-time buyers. You can work out almost exactly what you'll owe in five minutes.

This article walks through what Stamp Duty is in 2026, how much you'll pay on different property prices, who gets a discount, and the traps to watch for.

What Stamp Duty actually is

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax you pay to HMRC when you buy a property or land in England or Northern Ireland above a certain price. It's a one-off cost due at completion, which means the day you officially own the home.

Scotland has its own version called Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales has Land Transaction Tax (LTT). The principles are similar but the thresholds and rates are different. This article focuses on Stamp Duty in England and Northern Ireland.

Stamp Duty is not negotiable. It's a tax, not a fee, and it's set by law.

How the rates work in 2026

Stamp Duty is "banded". That means you pay different percentages on different slices of the property price, not one flat rate on the whole thing.

For a standard home purchase (not a first-time buyer, not an additional property), the 2026 rates are:

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%

Over £1.5 million

12%

The important thing to understand: only the part of the price in each band gets charged that band's rate. So a £300,000 home doesn't pay 5% on the whole thing, it pays 0% on the first £125k, 2% on the next £125k, and 5% on the remaining £50k.

That works out to £5,000. Still painful, but not £15,000.

Worked examples on typical UK prices

A £200,000 home, standard buyer

0% on the first £125,000 = £0
2% on the next £75,000 = £1,500
Total: £1,500

A £350,000 home, standard buyer

0% on £125,000 = £0
2% on £125,000 = £2,500
5% on £100,000 = £5,000
Total: £7,500

A £500,000 home, standard buyer

0% on £125,000 = £0
2% on £125,000 = £2,500
5% on £250,000 = £12,500
Total: £15,000

A £750,000 home, standard buyer

0% on £125,000 = £0
2% on £125,000 = £2,500
5% on £500,000 = £25,000
Total: £27,500

The first-time buyer discount

If you (and anyone else buying with you) are all first-time buyers, you get a chunky break on Stamp Duty. In 2026, first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay:

  • 0% on the first £300,000

  • 5% on anything between £300,001 and £500,000

  • No relief at all if the home costs over £500,000 (you pay standard rates on the whole thing)

Examples for first-time buyers:

  • £250,000 home: £0 Stamp Duty.

  • £300,000 home: £0 Stamp Duty.

  • £350,000 home: 5% on £50,000 = £2,500.

  • £450,000 home: 5% on £150,000 = £7,500.

  • £501,000 home: back to full standard rates, approx £15,050.

The £500,000 cliff edge is the most annoying feature of the whole system. Paying £501,000 means losing the entire first-time buyer relief.

To count as a first-time buyer, you (and everyone buying with you) must never have owned a property anywhere in the world, and you must intend to live in this one as your main home.

Second homes and buy-to-let

If you already own a home and you're buying another one, you pay a 3% surcharge on top of the standard rates, on every band. That includes buy-to-let, holiday homes, and second properties bought before you've sold the first one.

If you're buying a replacement main home but haven't sold the old one yet, you pay the surcharge at completion but can claim it back if you sell your old home within 36 months.

The surcharge stacks, so a £300,000 buy-to-let would owe standard Stamp Duty of £5,000 plus 3% on the whole £300,000 = £9,000 extra, for a total of £14,000.

Non-UK residents

If you're a non-UK resident buying residential property in England or Northern Ireland, there's an additional 2% surcharge on top of everything else. This kicks in if you've spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before completion.

When and how you actually pay it

Stamp Duty is due within 14 days of completion. In practice, your solicitor handles it. They ask you for the money before completion, hold it in a client account, and pay HMRC on your behalf.

You generally can't borrow Stamp Duty from your mortgage. It has to come from cash, on top of your deposit. That's why it matters so much when budgeting for a home purchase.

Always budget for Stamp Duty as a separate line item, the same way you budget for the deposit itself.

Common doubts

  • "What about Scotland and Wales?" Scotland uses LBTT and Wales uses LTT. Both have different thresholds and, in Scotland's case, a specific Additional Dwelling Supplement for second properties. Always check the relevant tax for your country before you budget.

  • "What if I'm gifted a property?" No Stamp Duty is usually owed if there's no mortgage being taken on. If you're assuming part of a mortgage, that portion counts as "consideration" and may be taxed.

  • "What about shared ownership?" You can either pay Stamp Duty on the full market value upfront, or on the share you're buying first and more later as you staircase. The right choice depends on your plans.

  • "Can I reclaim it if something changes?" Sometimes. The second-home surcharge can be reclaimed if you sell your old main home within 36 months. First-time buyer relief cannot be claimed retrospectively, so make sure it's applied at completion.

  • "Is Stamp Duty ever waived?" During past downturns, governments have temporarily raised thresholds or offered "holidays". Assume the current rules will apply unless you can see an announcement that changes them.

How to work out your bill in 3 minutes

1. Go to gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates.

2. Use the official Stamp Duty calculator at tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax.

3. Enter the price, your buyer type (first-time, standard, or second home) and completion date.

4. That number is what you'll actually owe. Add it to your cash needs before the deposit.

It's the same calculator your solicitor uses, so it's accurate enough to plan with.

Where Mona fits

Mona helps you plan the full cash pile you need to buy, not just the deposit. That means Stamp Duty, solicitor fees, survey, mortgage arrangement fees, moving costs and a float for the first month in the new place. She'll set you a realistic "ready to buy" target based on a specific property price, then keep the savings on track until you hit it.

This article is for education only and is not financial advice. For free, impartial guidance on Stamp Duty, use gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax and MoneyHelper.org.uk (run by the UK government's Money and Pensions Service). Your solicitor is the final word on your specific bill.

The bottom line

Stamp Duty is a one-off tax on buying a home in England and Northern Ireland. It uses banded rates, so you only pay each band's rate on the slice of the price that falls inside it. First-time buyers pay 0% up to £300,000 and nothing up to £500,000 once the relief is factored in. Second homes and buy-to-lets have a 3% surcharge.

The number is knowable. The trap is forgetting to budget for it.

Stamp Duty is a line item, not a surprise.

Before you make an offer on any UK property, run the price through the gov.uk Stamp Duty calculator, add the result to your cash-needed total, and make sure that number is sitting in your savings account, not just your spreadsheet.

Join Mona’s early access waitlist

Join the waitlist

All articles