UK Stamp Duty Land Tax: Bands, Reliefs and the Buyer's Actual Bill

Where the tax applies - and where it does not

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged on residential property bought in England and Northern Ireland. GOV.UK is explicit about the boundary: the page says "The tax is different if the property or land is in:" and then lists "Scotland - pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax" plus, for completions on or after 1 April 2018, "Wales - pay Land Transaction Tax if the sale was completed on or after 1 April 2018".[11] A quote built for a Glasgow flat is therefore not comparable with one built for a Bristol flat.

Thresholds on the same page: "SDLT starts to apply when you buy property that costs:
£125,000 for residential properties
£300,000 for first-time buyers buying a residential property worth £500,000 or less
£150,000 for non-residential land and properties"[11] Buying below the threshold means no SDLT, not a partial charge.

Bands: the tax applies to rising portions, not the whole price

GOV.UK states the mechanic directly: "You usually pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on increasing portions of the property price when you buy residential property, for example a house or flat."[10] The published single-property bands are: up to £125,000 at Zero; the next £125,000 (the portion from £125,001 to £250,000) at 2%; the next £675,000 (to £925,000) at 5%; the next £575,000 (to £1.5 million) at 10%; the remaining amount above £1.5 million at 12%.[10]

GOV.UK's own worked example, for a purchase in April 2025, is the cleanest check of the arithmetic: a house bought for £295,000 pays "0% on the first £125,000 = £0
2% on the second £125,000 = £2,500
5% on the final £45,000 = £2,250
total SDLT = £4,750"[10] £4,750 on £295,000 is an effective rate of about 1.6%, which is why quoting a single "stamp duty rate" for a price is always wrong.

First-time buyers: relief with a cliff edge

The relief is generous until it is not. "You'll pay:
no SDLT up to £300,000
5% SDLT on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000
If the price is over £500,000, you cannot claim the relief."[10] Eligibility requires that "you and anyone else you're buying with are first-time buyers".[10]

The published example shows the cliff: buying at exactly £500,000 as a first-time buyer gives "0% on the first £300,000 = £0
5% on the remaining £200,000 = £10,000
total SDLT = £10,000"[10] Cross £500,000 by any amount and the relief disappears entirely, so the tax bill jumps rather than glides - a threshold to model before making an offer, not after.

Owning more than one property: the +5% overlay and its triggers

"You'll usually have to pay 5% on top of SDLT rates if buying a new residential property means you'll own more than one."[10] HMRC's guidance sets the trigger: higher rates apply "when you buy a residential property (or a part of one) for £40,000 or more, if all the following apply: it will not be the only residential property worth £40,000 or more that you own (or part own) anywhere in the world...".[12]

The overlay changes every band. The same guidance publishes "The higher rates from 1 April 2025": up to £125,000 at 5%; £125,001 to £250,000 at 7%; £250,001 to £925,000 at 10%; £925,001 to £1.5 million at 15%; above £1.5 million at 17%.[12] Its worked example: an additional property bought on 1 April 2025 for £300,000 while still owning a main residence produces £20,000 of SDLT.[12]

Two carve-outs sit in the same document. Replacing your main residence avoids the extra 5% if "your previous main residence was sold within 36 months of completing your new purchase".[12] Non-UK residents face a separate layer: "There is a 2% surcharge on residential properties in England and Northern Ireland bought by non-UK residents on or after 1 April 2021", applied "on top of all other residential rates of SDLT including the higher rates for additional dwellings."[12]

Timing: 14 days, and who usually pays it

"Send an SDLT return to HMRC and pay the tax within 14 days of completion."[11] In practice most buyers do not do it themselves: "If you have a solicitor, agent or conveyancer, they'll usually file your return and pay the tax on your behalf on the day of completion. They'll then add the tax to their fees."[11] Late filing brings "penalties and interest".[11]

That matters for a price comparison: the SDLT you are quoted and the SDLT that leaves your account can be separated by a professional's markup, and both belong in the cash-to-close figure. What you pay on is the consideration - "usually the price you pay for the property or land", but it "might include another type of payment like:
goods
works or services
release from a debt
transfer of a debt, including the value of any outstanding mortgage".[11]

Rates move: fix the date before you compare

Bands are period-specific, which is why an un-dated stamp duty figure is unusable. HMRC's own publication of historic periods shows the structure: "Stamp Duty Land Tax rates: 31 October 2024 to 31 March 2025", alongside earlier periods back to December 2003, and the page carries "Last updated: 1 April 2025".[13] The higher-rates guidance likewise states "Last updated: 1 April 2025" and now contains only the post-1-April-2025 table, having removed "The table of higher rates from 31 October 2024 to 31 March 2025".[12]

Scope and evidence limits: everything here is the England and Northern Ireland residential position as published on GOV.UK, with page dates of 30 October 2024 for the rates and overview pages and 1 April 2025 for the HMRC guidance pages, read on September 24, 2026.[10][11][12][13] Reliefs for shared ownership, multiple dwellings, leaseholds and charities are handled on separate GOV.UK pages and are not covered here. No figure on this page is a personal calculation or a live quote.