Stamp duty calculator 2018: residential properties in England and Northern Ireland
Enter the property price in our stamp duty calculator to find out how much tax you'll pay on it:
Other stamp duty calculators
- Buy-to-let or second/holiday homes in England and Northern Ireland: buy-to-let stamp duty calculator
- All properties in Scotland: LBTT (Scottish stamp duty) calculator
- All properties in Wales: LTT (Welsh stamp duty) calculator
What is stamp duty?
Stamp duty is a tax that you have to pay when buying property in England or Northern Ireland.
It's tiered, meaning that you pay different rates on different portions of the property price.
Different stamp duty rates will be applied based on whether you're a first-time buyer, home mover or buying a buy-to-let, second or holiday home.
Stamp duty rates for home movers
When you buy a property you're planning to live in (and you've owned a property before), you'll pay the following rates on each portion of the property price:
- Portion costing between £0 and £125,000: 0%
- Portion costing between £125,001 and £250,000: 2%
- Portion costing between £250,001 and £925,000: 5%
- Portion costing between £925,001 and £1,500,000: 10%
- Portion costing over £1,500,000: 12%
Take a look at this example to see how it works:
- Property price: £275,000
- Portion 1: £0-£125,000 - 0% tax, so total stamp duty paid for this portion of the purchase price = £0
- Portion 2: £125,000.01-£250,000 - 2% tax, so stamp duty for this portion = £2,500
- Portion 3: £250,000.01-£275,000 - 5% tax, so stamp duty for this portion = £1,250
- Total paid: £278,750 (£3,750 of which is stamp duty)
First-time buyer stamp duty rates
If you're buying your first home for less than £300,000, you won't have to pay any stamp duty at all.
First-time buyers purchasing properties for between £300,000 and £500,000, meanwhile, won't have to pay stamp duty on the first £300,000. The excess between £300,000 and £500,000 will be charged at 5%.
First-timers buying homes for more than £500,000 will have to pay stamp duty at the standard rates - see the 'home movers' section above.
The rules mean that first-time buyers could save up to £5,000 on their stamp duty bills. The table below explains how much you'll save based on the price of your property.
First-time buyer stamp duty FAQs
Can I use the first-time buyer stamp duty relief for buy-to-let?
The first-time buyer stamp duty exemption only applies if you're planning to use the property as your main residence. You cannot use it when buying a property you plan to let out, or don't plan to live in yourself.
Do I qualify as a first-time buyer for stamp duty relief?
To qualify for the first-time buyer stamp duty relief, you must never have owned residential property before.
Owning residential property means holding an interest in a dwelling, whether freehold or leasehold.
So situations where you may not be a first-time buyer include if you've previously:
- inherited residential property
- been gifted residential property
- owned a home but then sold it
- owned a buy-to-let residential property
- owned a share of a property with someone else.
Do I qualify for stamp duty relief if I don't currently own a home?
The criteria requires first-time buyers to have never owned residential property before.
If you've ever owned a property - even if you then sold it and are now renting - you wouldn't qualify for the relief.
You also won't qualify if you own or previously owned a buy-to-let residential property.
Do I qualify for stamp duty relief if I previously owned a home outside England?
If you've ever owned a residential property anywhere in the world, you won't be considered a first-time buyer.
This is true of other parts of the UK - including Scotland and Wales - as well as abroad.
Do I qualify for stamp duty relief if I inherited or was gifted a property?
While the stamp duty relief is available for 'first time buyers', the criteria is whether you have owned a property before - so if you previously inherited a home or were given one as a gift, you wouldn't qualify for the first-time buyer relief.
Do I qualify if I previously owned a share or interest in a property?
Under the legislation, anyone who has ever owned an 'interest' in a residential property is excluded from the relief.
Shared ownership schemes, or buying together with a family member or partner, would count within this criteria.
Will I get stamp duty relief if my partner owns a home?
If you're buying with another person as a joint application, every single purchaser must be a first-time buyer. Otherwise, stamp duty will be payable on the property at the standard rates.
Buy-to-let stamp duty rates
Anyone buying a second home or buy-to-let property - ie any property that won't be your primary residence - has to pay an extra 3% on each tier of stamp duty.
Find out more: buy-to-let stamp duty calculator
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