Most first-time buyers pay no stamp duty at all. In England and Northern Ireland, you pay 0% on the first £300,000 of the purchase price and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000.
Table of Contents
- Stamp Duty Calculator 2026/27
- What Is Stamp Duty Land Tax and When Do You Pay It?
- First-Time Buyer Stamp Duty Relief: The Full Picture
- Stamp Duty Rate Tables for 2026/27
- Worked Examples With Real Figures
- Edge Cases: What Most Guides Do Not Cover
- Scotland and Wales: Key Differences
- How and When to Pay Stamp Duty
What Is Stamp Duty Land Tax and When Do You Pay It?
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax charged on the purchase of residential and commercial property in England and Northern Ireland. It is calculated as a percentage of the purchase price, applied in bands, and the liability falls on the buyer rather than the seller. You pay stamp duty after exchanging contracts and completing on your purchase, with payment due within 14 days of completion.
In practice, you never need to pay SDLT yourself directly. Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer deducts the correct amount from your completion funds, files an SDLT return with HMRC and makes the payment on your behalf. If your bill is nil due to first-time buyer relief, a return still needs to be submitted for most transactions. Missing the 14-day deadline triggers automatic penalties of at least £100, rising to £200 after three months, plus daily interest. A competent conveyancer will process this on completion day as a matter of course.
SDLT applies to freehold purchases, leasehold purchases, new-build contracts and transfers of existing leases. It does not apply to gifted properties, though inheritance tax and other considerations may arise separately. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT). These are separate systems with different rates and thresholds, which we cover briefly later in this guide.
This guide uses the official SDLT rates published by HMRC for 2026/27. All calculations, thresholds and first-time buyer relief rules are verified against GOV.UK and cross-checked with HMRC guidance notes.
First-time buyers often assume stamp duty relief means they pay no tax at all. The relief only applies to the first 425,000 of the property price. If you buy a home for 500,000, you still pay stamp duty on the portion above 425,000. Properties over 625,000 get no first-time buyer relief whatsoever.
First-Time Buyer Stamp Duty Relief: The Full Picture
First-time buyer relief is a specific SDLT discount designed to help people getting onto the property ladder for the first time. Under the 2026/27 rules, qualifying first-time buyers pay:
- 0% on the first £300,000 of the purchase price
- 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000
- If the property costs more than £500,000, the relief disappears entirely and the standard residential rates apply to the full purchase price
This structure means the maximum saving from first-time buyer relief is £5,000, achieved on purchases priced between £500,000 and £500,000. On a £500,000 property a first-time buyer pays £10,000, whereas a standard buyer pays £15,000 at that price.
Who Qualifies as a First-Time Buyer?
HMRC defines a first-time buyer as an individual who has never previously owned a freehold or leasehold residential property, either alone or jointly with anyone else, anywhere in the world. Several points catch people out:
- Inherited property counts. If you inherited a residential property at any point in your life, even if you never lived in it and sold it immediately, you are not a first-time buyer under SDLT rules.
- Overseas property counts. Owning or having owned a flat in Spain, an apartment in Dubai, or any other residential property abroad disqualifies you. The exemption only covers commercial property overseas.
- Joint ownership in the past counts. If you were once named on a mortgage or property deed with a partner and that relationship ended, you are no longer a first-time buyer.
- The property must be your main home. You cannot claim first-time buyer relief when purchasing a buy-to-let investment, even if it is genuinely the first property you have ever bought.
Stamp Duty Rate Tables for 2026/27
Standard Residential Rates
| Property Price Band | SDLT Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% |
First-Time Buyer Rates (Properties up to £500,000)
| Property Price Band | SDLT Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £300,000 | 0% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% |
| Above £500,000 | Relief lost. Standard rates apply. |
Additional Property Rates (Second Home or Buy-to-Let)
| Property Price Band | SDLT Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 3% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 5% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 8% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 13% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 15% |
Worked Examples With Real Figures
Example 1: £250,000 First-Time Buyer
The entire purchase price falls within the first-time buyer nil-rate band of £300,000. SDLT is £0. A standard buyer at the same price would pay £0 on the first £125,000 plus 2% on the next £125,000, giving a bill of £2,500. The first-time buyer saves £2,500.
| Band | Rate | Taxable | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £250,000 | 0% | £250,000 | £0 |
| Total SDLT | £0 | ||
Example 2: £350,000 Standard Home Mover
No first-time buyer relief applies. The standard rates produce a bill of £7,500.
| Band | Rate | Taxable | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | 0% | £125,000 | £0 |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | £125,000 | £2,500 |
| £250,001 to £350,000 | 5% | £100,000 | £5,000 |
| Total SDLT | £7,500 | ||
Example 3: £450,000 First-Time Buyer
Below the £500,000 cap, so first-time buyer relief applies. Total SDLT is £7,500. A standard buyer at this price would pay £12,500, meaning the first-time buyer saves £5,000.
| Band | Rate | Taxable | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £300,000 | 0% | £300,000 | £0 |
| £300,001 to £450,000 | 5% | £150,000 | £7,500 |
| Total SDLT (FTB) | £7,500 | ||
Example 4: £500,000 Additional Property Purchase
The buyer already owns their main home. The 5% surcharge applies on every band. Total SDLT is £40,000, compared with £15,000 for a standard buyer at the same price. The additional property surcharge alone adds £15,000.
| Band | Rate | Taxable | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | 3% | £125,000 | £3,750 |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 5% | £125,000 | £6,250 |
| £250,001 to £500,000 | 8% | £250,000 | £20,000 |
| Total SDLT | £40,000 | ||
Edge Cases: What Most Guides Do Not Cover
Joint Buyers: One First-Timer, One Previous Owner
This is one of the most common and costly misunderstandings in stamp duty. If you are buying jointly with a partner, friend or family member, every single buyer named on the title deeds must be a first-time buyer for the relief to apply. There is no partial relief, no proportional discount, and no workaround within the joint purchase structure.
If your partner owned a flat in their twenties, sold it after a previous relationship ended, and has rented ever since, they are still not a first-time buyer. That disqualifies both of you from the relief. The two of you would pay standard rates on the full purchase price.
One option some couples explore is buying in a single name. If the genuine first-time buyer has sufficient income to qualify for the mortgage alone, purchasing in their name only allows the first-time buyer relief to apply. This requires careful legal consideration around ownership rights, cohabitation agreements and the implications for lending options. You should also look carefully at which low-deposit mortgage deals remain available, as the choice narrows considerably when only one income supports the application.
Inherited Properties and First-Time Buyer Status
Inheriting residential property removes your first-time buyer status, full stop. HMRC’s rule is clear: if you have ever had a beneficial interest in residential property, you are not a first-time buyer. Inherited property counts even if you:
- Never lived in it
- Sold your share immediately after inheriting
- Inherited only a small percentage share
- Were a minor when the inheritance occurred
If you inherited a property and are now buying your own home, you pay standard SDLT rates. If you still own the inherited property when you buy, you will likely face the additional property 5% surcharge as well, unless your inherited share is sufficiently small and meets certain conditions. Get advice from a tax-specialist solicitor if your situation involves an inheritance.
Shared Ownership Purchases
Shared ownership allows you to buy a share of a property, typically between 25% and 75%, and pay subsidised rent on the portion you do not own. HMRC gives shared ownership buyers two options for how SDLT is calculated, and choosing the right one can save thousands.
Option 1: Market value election. You pay SDLT based on the full market value of the whole property upfront. As a first-time buyer, relief applies if the full market value is at or below £500,000. If the full property is worth £280,000 and you are buying a 50% share, you elect to pay SDLT on the full £280,000 now. Under first-time buyer rates, this is £0. No further SDLT is payable until you staircase above 80% ownership.
Option 2: Staged payments. You pay SDLT only on the share you are purchasing plus the net present value of the rental element. Each time you staircase and acquire additional shares, another SDLT payment is triggered until you pass 80% ownership.
For most first-time buyers taking a modest initial share in a property below £500,000, the market value election under first-time buyer relief results in a nil SDLT bill and protects against future payments during staircasing. Your conveyancer should model both options before completion.
Buying from a Family Member
SDLT on transactions between connected parties is calculated on the higher of the actual price paid or the open market value of the property. If your parents agree to sell you their house at a 20% discount, HMRC still assesses SDLT against the full market value. You cannot gift equity to a family member and reduce the tax base.
However, if you are buying at full market value from a parent or relative, the SDLT calculation is identical to any arm’s-length transaction. First-time buyer relief can still apply if you meet all of the usual conditions. The fact that the seller is a family member has no bearing on your eligibility, provided the price reflects market value.
Gifted Deposits and Parental Contributions
Receiving a gifted deposit from your parents has no impact whatsoever on your stamp duty calculation. SDLT is assessed on the total purchase price of the property, not on the source or composition of your funds. Whether your deposit is made up of personal savings, a gift, a Help to Buy ISA bonus, or a combination of all three, the taxable consideration is the price agreed with the seller.
One point worth noting: if your parents are providing a loan rather than a gift, and that loan is secured on the property (for example via a legal charge), the value of the loan may form part of the chargeable consideration for SDLT purposes. Seek legal advice if your parents are providing anything other than a straightforward cash gift with no strings attached.
Scotland and Wales: Key Differences
SDLT does not apply in Scotland or Wales. If you are buying north of the border or in Wales, different systems, rates and thresholds apply.
Scotland (LBTT): Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applies to Scottish property purchases. Scotland has its own first-time buyer relief that raises the nil-rate threshold to £175,000 for qualifying buyers, compared with the standard Scottish starting threshold of £145,000. Rates, bands and the additional dwelling supplement differ from the English system. See the Revenue Scotland website for current Scottish rates.
Wales (LTT): Land Transaction Tax replaced SDLT in Wales in 2018. Wales does not offer a dedicated first-time buyer relief, though it does have a higher starting threshold for the lowest band. Welsh LTT rates and bands are managed by the Welsh Revenue Authority and are reviewed periodically. The calculator and figures in this article do not apply to Welsh purchases.
How and When to Pay Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is not something you need to budget for separately in your bank account on completion day. The process works as follows:
- You instruct a solicitor or licensed conveyancer when an offer is accepted.
- They calculate your SDLT liability as part of the conveyancing process, advising you of the amount due in advance.
- On completion day, your mortgage funds are released to your solicitor, combined with your deposit. The solicitor pays the seller, registers the title and submits your SDLT return to HMRC.
- SDLT must be paid within 14 days of the completion date. In practice, reputable solicitors submit and pay on the day of or the day after completion.
- Even if your SDLT bill is £0 due to first-time buyer relief, a return must usually be filed. Your solicitor handles this automatically.
Solicitors typically include a small administrative fee of £50 to £150 in their conveyancing quote to cover the SDLT return filing. This is a legal disbursement, separate from the tax itself. When you review your solicitor’s completion statement, you will see both the tax amount and this fee itemised separately.
Understanding your total upfront costs including SDLT, solicitor fees, survey costs and mortgage arrangement fees is important for planning. Checking current UK mortgage rates early in the process helps you calculate the full cost of ownership, not just the purchase price.
5 Legal Ways to Reduce Your Stamp Duty Bill
1. Use Your First-Time Buyer Relief
This is the most straightforward and valuable option available. If you have never owned residential property before and are buying a property at or below £500,000, you are entitled to relief that reduces SDLT to nil on the first £300,000. Do not assume your solicitor will automatically apply it. Confirm your first-time buyer status in writing and verify the relief appears on your completion statement before funds are transferred.
2. Negotiate the Price Below a Key Threshold
SDLT thresholds create meaningful negotiating opportunities. The jump from 0% to 2% at £125,000, from 2% to 5% at £250,000 and from 5% to 10% at £925,000 all represent points where a small reduction in price can produce a disproportionate saving in tax. A property listed at £255,000 would cost £7,750 in SDLT for a standard buyer; at £250,000 it costs £2,500. That is a £5,250 difference for a £5,000 price reduction. Both buyer and seller can share that benefit.
3. Separate the Value of Fixtures and Fittings
SDLT is calculated on the value of the property itself. Movable items that are not structural fixtures, including freestanding kitchen appliances, curtains, carpets laid on tack strips, garden furniture and tools, can legitimately be allocated a separate value in the purchase contract. This reduces the proportion of the price attributable to the property and therefore reduces the SDLT base. HMRC expects allocations to be realistic and commercially reasonable. Claiming £50,000 for a standard fitted kitchen and some garden pots will attract scrutiny. A properly documented allocation of £5,000 to £15,000 for genuine furnishings in a mid-range property is widely accepted.
4. Buy Through the First Homes Scheme
The government’s First Homes scheme offers new-build properties at a minimum 30% discount to market value for eligible first-time buyers. Because SDLT is assessed on the price you actually pay, a £350,000 home offered at a 30% discount is purchased for £245,000, falling entirely within the FTB nil-rate band. This produces a nil SDLT bill even for properties with a headline market value of up to £500,000 at a 30% discount. Eligibility criteria apply and not all developers offer the scheme.
5. Reclaim the Additional Dwelling Supplement
If you bought a new home before selling your previous one, you will have paid the 3% additional property surcharge on the new purchase. Provided you sell your original main residence within three years of completing on the new one, you can apply to HMRC for a full refund of the additional 3%. This often runs to tens of thousands of pounds and is surprisingly easy to overlook. Your solicitor should flag this at the time of the new purchase, but the reclaim window is long enough that the timing of the original property sale can cause people to miss it. Set a calendar reminder.
Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty on a house?
Most first-time buyers pay no stamp duty at all. In England and Northern Ireland, properties up to 300,000 are completely exempt. For properties between 300,001 and 500,000, you pay 5% only on the portion above 300,000. If the property costs more than 500,000, first-time buyer relief does not apply and standard rates kick in.
How much is stamp duty on a 300k house?
For a first-time buyer purchasing at exactly 300,000, the stamp duty bill is zero. For a standard buyer (not a first-time buyer), the stamp duty on a 300,000 property is 2,500. This is calculated as 0% on the first 125,000 and 2% on the remaining 175,000.
How to avoid 5% stamp duty?
You cannot avoid stamp duty if it is legally due, but you can reduce it. First-time buyers automatically pay 0% on the first 300,000. Buying a property at or below 125,000 means zero stamp duty for anyone. You can also negotiate a lower purchase price, or ask the seller to include fixtures and fittings separately from the property price, which are not subject to SDLT.
How much stamp duty on 750k?
On a 750,000 property, a standard buyer pays 27,500 in stamp duty. This breaks down as: 0% on the first 125,000, 2% on the next 125,000 (2,500), and 5% on the remaining 500,000 (25,000). First-time buyer relief does not apply because the property exceeds the 500,000 cap.
When do you pay stamp duty?
You must pay stamp duty within 14 days of the completion date (the day you legally become the owner). Your solicitor or conveyancer usually handles the payment and HMRC filing on your behalf. Late payment can result in penalties and interest charges.
Do I pay stamp duty on a second home?
Yes, and you pay more. An additional 5% surcharge applies on top of the standard rates when you buy a second home, holiday let, or buy-to-let property. On a 300,000 second property, you would pay 18,500 compared to 2,500 at standard rates.
Is stamp duty different in Scotland and Wales?
Yes. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) with different rates and thresholds. Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT). Both have their own first-time buyer reliefs with different thresholds. The rates in this guide apply to England and Northern Ireland only.
- Stamp Duty Calculator 2026/27
- What Is Stamp Duty Land Tax and When Do You Pay It?
- First-Time Buyer Stamp Duty Relief: The Full Picture
- Stamp Duty Rate Tables for 2026/27
- Worked Examples With Real Figures
- Edge Cases: What Most Guides Do Not Cover
About the Author
Sarah Mitchell, UK Personal Finance Writer
Sarah has spent over 8 years helping everyday people make sense of their money. She covers taxes, pensions, savings and household bills with a focus on what actually matters to your wallet. Her work is independently researched with no affiliate links or sponsored content.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much stamp duty do first time buyers pay in 2026?
First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000 of a property purchase. For properties between £300,001 and £500,000, you pay 5% on the amount above £300,000. If the property costs more than £500,000, you pay standard rates with no first-time buyer relief.
When did the stamp duty first time buyer relief change?
The first-time buyer stamp duty relief threshold returned to £300,000 from 1 April 2025, down from the temporary £425,000 threshold that applied during 2022-2025. The maximum property price for any relief also dropped from £625,000 back to £500,000.
Do first time buyers pay stamp duty in Scotland?
Scotland has its own system called Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). First-time buyers in Scotland get relief on the first £175,000 of a property purchase. The rates and thresholds are different from England and Northern Ireland.
MoneyWise UK provides information for general guidance only. This is not financial advice. Always consult a qualified financial adviser before making major financial decisions.
