Stamp Duty Land Tax is charged in slices, like income tax. You do not pay one rate on the whole price — you pay each rate on the part of the price that falls in its band. Almost everyone gets this wrong the first time, usually in their own favour.
The 2026 bands, England
| Portion of the price | Standard rate | Additional property |
|---|---|---|
| Up 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% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% | 17% |
The additional-property surcharge is 5% on every band, and it applies if you will own more than one dwelling at the end of the day of completion. That includes buying before you have sold, though you can usually reclaim it if you sell the old one within three years.
First-time buyers
If you and everyone buying with you have never owned a home anywhere in the world, you pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion between £300,000 and £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief disappears completely — not tapered, gone. At £500,001 you pay the full standard rates on the whole thing, which is a £10,000 cliff edge. If you are a first-time buyer negotiating around half a million, that number matters more than the survey.
Worked example
A £389,500 cottage in Ketton, standard buyer, no second property:
- First £125,000 at 0% = £0
- Next £125,000 at 2% = £2,500
- Remaining £139,500 at 5% = £6,975
- Total: £9,475
The same house bought by a first-time buyer: £0 on the first £300,000, 5% on the remaining £89,500 = £4,475. Bought as a buy-to-let: £28,950.
The rest of the bill
Stamp duty gets all the attention and then people are surprised in week three. Budget for:
- Conveyancing on the purchase — around £1,680 including searches and Land Registry fees for a typical local purchase
- Conveyancing on the sale — around £1,450
- Survey — £550 for a homebuyer report, £950 to £1,400 for a full building survey on a period stone house, which for anything pre-1900 here is money well spent
- Removals — £620 for a small flat, £940 for a three-bed, £1,350 upwards for a four-bed with a garage full of things
- Our fee, if you are also selling — 1.2% + VAT, so £5,608.80 including VAT on a £389,500 sale
- EPC — £96, or nothing if you sell with us
Use the calculator below to put your own numbers in. It runs the real 2026 bands, our published fee and typical local costs, and it shows the working so you can check it against your solicitor's completion statement.
Scotland and Wales are different taxes — LBTT and LTT — with their own bands. Everything above is England only.
Moving cost calculator
England only. Runs the real 2026 SDLT bands including first-time buyer relief and the 5% additional-property surcharge.
What moving will cost you
—
An estimate using typical local costs and our published fee. Your solicitor's completion statement is the number that counts. Scotland and Wales use LBTT and LTT, which are different taxes with different bands.
