Buy a property anywhere in the UK and you'll pay a land transaction tax. What it's called, and how it works, depends entirely on where the place sits. England and Northern Ireland use Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT).
All three work in bands, or slices: each rate only applies to the chunk of the price that falls inside its band, never to the whole price.
Not financial advice. Rates are sourced from HMRC, Revenue Scotland, and the Welsh Revenue Authority. Always consult a solicitor for your specific transaction. Sources: gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax, revenue.scot, gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-rates-and-bands.
1. SDLT in England and Northern Ireland
The current SDLT rates for residential property have been in force since 1 April 2025:
Standard rates (main residence, home-mover)
| Price slice | Rate |
|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% |
| £1,500,000+ | 12% |
Worked example: £400,000 purchase (standard home-mover)
| Price slice | Amount in slice | Rate | SDLT |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | £125,000 | 0% | £0 |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | £125,000 | 2% | £2,500 |
| £250,001 to £400,000 | £150,000 | 5% | £7,500 |
| Total SDLT | £10,000 |
First-time buyer relief (England and NI)
First-time buyers purchasing their main home get reduced rates:
| Price slice | First-time buyer rate |
|---|---|
| £0 to £300,000 | 0% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% |
| Over £500,000 | No relief: standard rates apply to the whole price |
The critical bit, the £500,000 cliff: if the price goes over £500,000, first-time buyer relief is pulled entirely and you pay standard SDLT rates on the full price.
| Purchase price | FTB SDLT | Standard SDLT | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| £300,000 | £0 | £5,000 | £5,000 |
| £425,000 | £6,250 | £11,250 | £5,000 |
| £500,000 | £10,000 | £15,000 | £5,000 |
| £500,001 | £15,000 (relief gone) | £15,000 | £0 |
At £500,001 you're £5,000 worse off than at £500,000. So if you're hovering near that threshold, haggling the price back under it can be very much worth the effort.
Source: gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/first-time-buyers.
Additional property (HRAD): England and NI
Buying a second home or a buy-to-let? The Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) surcharge tacks 5 percentage points onto each SDLT band (it applies once the price is £40,000 or more and you'll own two or more dwellings after completion):
| Price slice | Standard rate | HRAD rate |
|---|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | 0% | 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 7% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% | 15% |
| £1,500,000+ | 12% | 17% |
Worked example: £500,000 additional property
| Price slice | Amount in slice | HRAD rate | SDLT |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | £125,000 | 5% | £6,250 |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | £125,000 | 7% | £8,750 |
| £250,001 to £500,000 | £250,000 | 10% | £25,000 |
| Total SDLT | £40,000 |
That is £25,000 more than the £15,000 a standard home-mover would pay on the same price.
If you're replacing your main residence (you sold the old one within 36 months, or you'll sell it within 36 months of buying the new one), the HRAD surcharge doesn't apply.
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2. LBTT in Scotland
Scotland's Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) applies to residential purchases north of the border. The Scottish Parliament sets the rates, and it froze them for 2026/27:
Standard LBTT rates
| Price slice | Rate |
|---|---|
| £0 to £145,000 | 0% |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% |
| £750,000+ | 12% |
Worked example: £500,000 (Scotland, standard)
| Price slice | Amount in slice | Rate | LBTT |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £145,000 | £145,000 | 0% | £0 |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | £105,000 | 2% | £2,100 |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | £75,000 | 5% | £3,750 |
| £325,001 to £500,000 | £175,000 | 10% | £17,500 |
| Total LBTT | £23,350 |
First-time buyer relief in Scotland
Scottish first-time buyers get their nil-rate band lifted to £175,000, with the rest of the bands left alone. There's no upper price cap here, so none of England's £500,000 cliff-edge drama. The most you can save is £600 (2% on the £30,000 sitting between £145,001 and £175,000).
| Buyer type | Nil-rate band | Maximum saving vs standard |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | £145,000 | £0 |
| First-time buyer | £175,000 | £600 |
Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS): Scotland
The ADS lands when you buy an additional dwelling for £40,000 or more. Where England's HRAD adds percentage points band by band, Scotland keeps it blunt: a flat 8% on the whole purchase price, sitting on top of the banded LBTT:
Worked example: £250,000 additional property in Scotland
| Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| LBTT (banded) | 0% on £145,000 plus 2% on £105,000 | £2,100 |
| ADS | 8% on the full £250,000 | £20,000 |
| Total | £22,100 |
Source: revenue.scot/taxes/land-buildings-transaction-tax/additional-dwelling-supplement-ads.
3. LTT in Wales
Wales's Land Transaction Tax (LTT) uses its own bands, different from both England and Scotland. And there's no first-time buyer relief here at all.
Main LTT rates (standard purchase)
| Price slice | Rate |
|---|---|
| £0 to £225,000 | 0% |
| £225,001 to £400,000 | 6% |
| £400,001 to £750,000 | 7.5% |
| £750,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% |
| £1,500,000+ | 12% |
Worked example: £500,000 (Wales, standard)
| Price slice | Amount in slice | Rate | LTT |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £225,000 | £225,000 | 0% | £0 |
| £225,001 to £400,000 | £175,000 | 6% | £10,500 |
| £400,001 to £500,000 | £100,000 | 7.5% | £7,500 |
| Total LTT | £18,000 |
Higher rates (additional property): Wales
For additional property, Wales switches to a standalone table that replaces the main rates outright. It isn't a surcharge bolted on like England's HRAD:
| Price slice | Rate |
|---|---|
| £0 to £180,000 | 5% |
| £180,001 to £250,000 | 8.5% |
| £250,001 to £400,000 | 10% |
| £400,001 to £750,000 | 12.5% |
| £750,001 to £1,500,000 | 15% |
| £1,500,000+ | 17% |
Source: gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-rates-and-bands.
4. Side-by-side comparison
| Purchase price | SDLT (England) | LBTT (Scotland) | LTT (Wales) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £150,000 | £500 | £100 | £0 |
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £2,100 | £1,500 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £23,350 | £18,000 |
| £750,000 | £27,500 | £48,350 | £36,750 |
| £1,000,000 | £43,750 | £78,350 | £61,750 |
Standard home-mover rates, rounded to the nearest pound. Sources: gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax, revenue.scot, gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-rates-and-bands.
All three regimes
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Related guides
- How much can I borrow for a mortgage?: stamp duty eats into your total purchase budget
- How is take-home pay calculated?: plan your finances around the full cost of buying