CalcBritain

Moving Budget Calculator

Add up everything your move needs, apply a contingency, and see what you have to save each month to be ready by your target date.

Estimate only. This is a budgeting tool, not financial advice. Costs vary widely by region, property and circumstances. Get real quotes for removals and conveyancing, and confirm your stamp duty position, before committing to a move date.

Enter what your move will cost

Your total budget, the gap left to fund and the monthly saving needed appear here as you type.

How the plan is worked out

The five cost blocks are added together, a contingency is applied as a percentage of that subtotal, and the result is your total budget. Subtracting what you have already saved gives the gap still to fund. Divided by the months until your move, that gap becomes the monthly saving you need, rounded up to the penny so the plan never lands fractionally short. Separately, your actual monthly saving is projected forward to your move date and compared against the budget, which produces either a surplus or a shortfall, and the number of months your current rate would really take is shown alongside, so a plan that does not work can be fixed either by saving more or by moving later.

A moving budget is a cash-flow problem, not a cost estimate

Most moving calculators tell you what a move costs. That is useful, and it is not the question that keeps people awake. The real question is whether the money will be there on the day, because almost every cost in a move falls due before or at completion, not afterwards.

This calculator is built around that. It adds up the whole requirement, subtracts what you have, and turns the remainder into a monthly figure against your target date. If the numbers do not work, there are only two levers, save more or move later, and it shows you both.

It sits alongside the two calculators that price the individual pieces: house buying cost for stamp duty, conveyancing and survey, and moving house cost for the removals side. Work those out first, then bring the totals back here to see whether the date is realistic.

The five blocks of a moving budget

The deposit is the largest line for most movers. For buyers it is the mortgage deposit; for renters it is the tenancy deposit, capped by law at five weeks' rent for most tenancies, plus the first month's rent in advance. Renters frequently forget that both fall due before the old deposit is returned, so the cash requirement peaks even though the net cost is lower.

Transaction costs are stamp duty, conveyancing, searches, the survey, mortgage arrangement or broker fees, and estate agent commission if you are selling. Stamp duty alone can dwarf everything else, and the surcharge for additional property changes the picture entirely.

Moving costs are the logistics: removals or van hire, packing, cleaning, mail redirection and any storage. Setting-up costs are what the new home needs on arrival, which is the block people underestimate most: white goods, curtains and blinds, a bed that fits, decorating, and the broadband installation.

Then anything else specific to your move, such as overlapping rent, time off work, or school uniforms if you are changing catchment. The fifth box exists because every move has at least one cost that belongs to nobody else's list.

Why the contingency is not optional

A 10% buffer is the default here because moves reliably produce costs that were not on the plan. The survey finds something. The chain slips and storage runs three weeks instead of one. The fridge does not fit. The completion date moves and you pay for two sets of utilities for a month.

The contingency also absorbs the estimates that were simply wrong. Almost every figure in a moving budget is a quote or a guess made weeks in advance, and errors in a budget are not symmetrically distributed: things cost more than expected far more often than they cost less.

If your move involves a chain, a leasehold property or any renovation before you can live in it, 10% is the floor rather than the target. Chain delays are the single most common cause of a moving budget going wrong, and they are entirely outside your control.

Where the savings should sit while you build them

Money needed within a couple of years does not belong in the stock market. A fall of 20% the month before completion is a small probability with an unrecoverable consequence, and there is no time to wait for a recovery. Cash is the right answer for a dated, non-negotiable requirement.

Use an easy-access or notice savings account and check the rate, since the gap between a competitive rate and a high-street default is substantial on a five-figure balance. Keep the money within the FSCS protection limit per banking licence, and note that some brands share a licence.

First-time buyers should look at the Lifetime ISA before anything else, which adds a 25% government bonus on up to £4,000 a year towards a first home. The rules are strict on property price and on withdrawing for anything else, and the withdrawal penalty means you can get back less than you paid in, so read them before opening one.

Whatever the account, make sure the money is accessible on the day it is needed. A fixed-term bond maturing a fortnight after completion is a failure of planning rather than of saving.

When the date does not work

If the required monthly figure is beyond what you can save, the honest options are to move the date, cut the budget, or find the money elsewhere. The calculator shows how many months your actual savings rate would really take, which converts an abstract shortfall into a concrete new date.

Cutting the budget usually means the setting-up block rather than the deposit or the transaction costs, which are largely fixed. Living with the existing sofa for six months is a real and reversible saving. Decluttering before the move shrinks the removals quote and can turn unwanted furniture into part of the deposit.

What not to do is close the gap with credit taken out shortly before a mortgage application. New borrowing in the months before completion affects affordability assessments and can put the mortgage itself at risk, which is a far worse outcome than a delayed move.

Worked example: moving in twelve months

A £25,000 deposit with transaction, moving and setting-up costs, a 10% contingency, £18,000 already saved and £900 a month going in. These are the exact figures this calculator returns.

Deposit£25,000.00
Transaction costs£4,500.00
Moving costs£1,600.00
Setting-up costs£3,000.00
Costs before contingency£34,100.00
Contingency (10%)£3,410.00
Total budget£37,510.00
Saved so far£18,000.00
Still to find£19,510.00
Needed each month (12 months)£1,625.84
Saving at £900/month, projected total£28,800.00
Shortfall at the target date£8,710.00

Saving £900 a month is not enough for a twelve-month move: it lands £8,710 short. The same £900 reaches the full budget in 22 months, so the realistic choice is roughly £1,626 a month to keep the date, or keeping the rate and moving in under two years instead. Seeing both numbers is the point.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I budget to move house?
Add five blocks: the deposit, transaction costs (stamp duty, conveyancing, survey and fees), moving costs (removals, packing, cleaning, storage), setting-up costs for the new home, and anything specific to your move. Then add a contingency of at least 10%. For a typical purchase the deposit dominates, but transaction costs commonly run to several thousand pounds and the setting-up block is the one most often left out entirely.
How much contingency should a moving budget include?
10% of the total is a sensible default, and it is the figure this calculator starts with. Go higher if your move involves a chain, a leasehold property or any work needed before you can move in. Moving costs overrun in one direction far more often than the other, and chain delays, which are common and outside your control, are the most frequent cause.
What is the difference between this and a moving cost calculator?
A moving cost calculator prices the removal van and the logistics of getting your belongings from one address to another. This one plans the whole cash requirement of the move, including the deposit and transaction costs, and turns the gap into a monthly savings target against your move date. Use the moving house cost calculator to work out the removals figure, then enter that total here.
Where should I keep money I am saving for a move?
In cash, not investments. Money needed on a fixed date within a couple of years cannot absorb a market fall, because there is no time to recover before you need it. Use a competitive easy-access or notice account, stay within the FSCS protection limit per banking licence, and make sure any notice period or fixed term ends comfortably before completion rather than after it.
Should first-time buyers use a Lifetime ISA for a moving deposit?
It is usually worth considering, because the government adds a 25% bonus on contributions of up to £4,000 a year towards a first home. The conditions are strict: a property price cap, a minimum period since opening, and a withdrawal charge for taking money out for anything else, which can leave you with less than you paid in. Check that your intended purchase fits the rules before relying on it.
What if I cannot save enough before my move date?
There are three honest options: move the date, cut the budget, or reduce what you are buying. The calculator shows how long your current savings rate would actually take, which turns the shortfall into a specific later date. Cuts usually have to come from setting-up costs rather than the deposit or transaction costs. Avoid closing the gap with new credit in the months before a mortgage application, as it affects affordability and can jeopardise the mortgage.
Do renters need a moving budget too?
Yes, and the cash-flow problem is often sharper. A tenancy deposit is capped by law at five weeks' rent for most tenancies, but it falls due alongside the first month's rent in advance and before the deposit on your current place is returned. The peak cash requirement is therefore much higher than the net cost of the move, which is exactly what this calculator is designed to surface.
Why is the monthly saving figure rounded up?
Because rounding a savings target down produces a plan that lands fractionally short, and that is the one direction a budget must never err in. The required monthly figure is always rounded up to the nearest penny, so saving exactly that amount for the stated number of months is guaranteed to reach the budget rather than to miss it by a few pence.

Also known as: moving budget calculator · moving budget planner · budget calculator UK · cost of moving planner · house move savings calculator

Related calculators