UK House Buying Tax — The Complete Guide

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax you pay when you buy a home in England or Northern Ireland, and only the buyer pays it. If you're selling, you owe nothing in stamp duty on that sale — your tax worry as a seller is Capital Gains Tax instead. So when people ask "how much stamp duty will I pay", the answer hangs on the home you're buying, not the one you're leaving.

The rates are marginal, not one flat rate. You don't pay one rate on the whole price; you pay each band's rate only on the slice of the price inside it. From 2026 the standard bands are 0% up to £250,000, 5% on £250k–£925k, 10% on £925k–£1.5m, and 12% above £1.5m. A £300,000 home pays 0% on the first £250,000 and 5% on the remaining £50,000, which comes to £2,500 — not the £15,000 you'd get if you charged 5% on everything.

First-time buyers get a bigger nil-rate band: 0% up to £425,000, which can save up to £8,750. The catch is it only applies to homes under £625,000. Second homes and buy-to-lets go the other way — you pay the standard rates plus a 3% surcharge on every band, so second-home stamp duty on that same £300,000 purchase is £11,500 instead of £2,500.

When you sell, the buyer pays SDLT, not you. Your tax, if any, is Capital Gains Tax on the profit, and it usually doesn't apply if the home was your main residence the whole time you owned it. And if you're buying in Scotland, forget SDLT entirely — it's LBTT (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax), with its own bands starting at 0% up to £145,000.