Stamp duty calculator
Enter a price and it works out the tax, including first-time buyer relief and the extra charge on second homes. Nothing leaves your browser.
Estimated tax: £0 (0% effective rate)
Monthly repayment: £0
Gross yield: —
An estimate, calculated in your browser from published rates as of April 2025. Budgets change these, so confirm the exact figure on gov.uk, Revenue Scotland or the Welsh Revenue Authority before you exchange. Not financial advice.
How stamp duty actually works
The tax is charged in slices, not all at one rate. A £400,000 purchase in England does not attract one percentage on the whole amount: the first slice is taxed at nothing, the next at 2%, the next at 5%, and only the part above each threshold is charged at the higher rate. That is why the effective rate above is lower than the headline band.
The three nations run separate taxes. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax, Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax. The thresholds differ in all three, so the same price produces three different bills.
First-time buyer relief applies only up to a ceiling, and disappears entirely above it rather than tapering. Buying an additional property adds a surcharge on top of the whole amount, which is usually the largest single surprise in a buy-to-let sum.
Common questions
When do I pay it?
Within 14 days of completion in England and Northern Ireland, and 30 days in Scotland and Wales. In practice your solicitor files and pays it out of the funds you send them, so you need the money available at completion, not afterwards.
Do first-time buyers pay nothing?
Only below the relief threshold, and only if every buyer is a first-time buyer. Above the ceiling the relief vanishes completely and standard rates apply to the whole price.
Does the surcharge apply if I am replacing my main home?
Not if you sell your previous main residence at the same time. If the sale completes later you usually pay the surcharge up front and reclaim it, within a time limit.
Is the calculator's figure the exact amount?
Treat it as an estimate. Rates change at Budgets, and unusual purchases such as shared ownership, mixed-use property or company buyers follow different rules entirely.
The rest of the picture
The tax is the easy number. Flood risk, what the neighbours' houses actually sold for, crime, schools and the energy bill are the ones that change your mind about a house. Those are free too, on any UK postcode.