Standard SDLT in 2026: 0% up to £125K, 2% to £250K, 5% to £925K, 10% to £1.5M, 12% above. First-time buyers: 0% up to £300K, 5% £300K-£500K, no relief above. Additional property: +5% on each band. Non-residents: +2%.
UK Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax you pay when buying property in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT) - similar concept, slightly different rates. This guide covers SDLT for 2026 and what changed since the threshold reverts of April 2025.
The 2026 SDLT bands (residential, single property)
Band
Standard rate
Additional property (e.g. BTL, second home)
£0 - £125,000
0%
5%
£125,001 - £250,000
2%
7%
£250,001 - £925,000
5%
10%
£925,001 - £1,500,000
10%
15%
£1,500,000+
12%
17%
Non-residents pay an additional 2% surcharge across all bands.
First-time buyer relief
If you (and your spouse / civil partner) have never owned a home anywhere in the world, and the purchase price is £500,000 or less, you get the first-time buyer SDLT relief:
Band
Rate
£0 - £300,000
0%
£300,001 - £500,000
5%
Above £500,000
No first-time buyer relief - standard rates apply on the entire price
SDLT on common purchase prices (mover, primary residence)
England 2026 standard bands (no FTB relief, no surcharge)
£200,000
£1,500
£1,500
£300,000
£5,000
£5,000
£400,000
£10,000
£10,000
£500,000
£15,000
£15,000
£625,000
£21,250
£21,250
£750,000
£27,500
£27,500
£1,000,000
£43,750
£43,750
£1,500,000
£93,750
£93,750
£2,000,000
£153,750
£153,750
Worked examples
First-time buyer, £400,000 home (England)
£0 on first £300K
5% on £100K = £5,000
Total SDLT: £5,000
Compared to standard rates: £0 + £2,500 + £7,500 = £10,000. First-time buyer relief saves £5,000.
First-time buyer, £550,000 home
Above £500K threshold means no first-time buyer relief. Standard rates apply on the full price:
0% on first £125K
2% on £125K-£250K = £2,500
5% on £250K-£550K = £15,000
Total SDLT: £17,500
Movers, £750,000 home (replacing main residence)
0% on £125K
2% on £125K-£250K = £2,500
5% on £250K-£750K = £25,000
Total SDLT: £27,500
Buy-to-let, £400,000 home (additional property)
5% on £125K = £6,250
7% on £125K-£250K = £8,750
10% on £250K-£400K = £15,000
Total SDLT: £30,000
The 5% surcharge on each band makes BTL math much harder than it was pre-2016.
The temporary higher thresholds (set during the 2022 mini-budget) reverted on 1 April 2025. Standard residential 0% band returned from £250K to £125K. First-time buyer 0% band returned from £425K to £300K. Maximum first-time-buyer relievable price returned from £625K to £500K.
Effect: a first-time buyer of a £450K home in London paid £1,250 in SDLT under the temporary rules; the same purchase post-April 2025 costs £7,500. That's £6,250 more.
The 5% additional-property surcharge: budgeting for BTL
If you already own any home anywhere in the world (UK or abroad) when buying a residential property in England/NI, the 5% surcharge applies on top of every band. Exceptions:
Replacement of main residence: if you sell your old home within 36 months, you can claim back the surcharge
Property under £40,000: surcharge doesn't apply
Inherited property is treated as additional unless transferred within 3 years of inheritance
Non-resident 2% surcharge
If you've spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before completion, the non-resident surcharge applies. It's 2% across every band, on top of any other surcharges. So a non-resident BTL buyer pays standard rate + 5% additional + 2% non-resident = potentially 19% on portions of the price.
Mixed-use and multiple-dwellings relief (MDR)
MDR was abolished from 1 June 2024. Mixed-use property (residential + commercial) still falls under non-residential SDLT, which has lower rates (0/2/5%) but no first-time buyer relief.
Devolved variations
Country
Tax
0% threshold
Top rate
England, Northern Ireland
SDLT
£125K (£300K FTB)
12% above £1.5M
Scotland
LBTT
£145K (£175K FTB)
12% above £750K
Wales
LTT
£225K
12% above £1.5M
Scotland's higher 0% threshold but lower 12% top means Scottish high-end purchases are SDLT-cheaper than English equivalents; Welsh purchases are SDLT-cheaper at the entry level.
Five legal SDLT-reducing tactics
Buy under £300K as first-time buyer - 0% SDLT
Buy a non-residential or mixed-use property - lower rates, no 5% surcharge
Sell your previous home before completing your new one - dodge the additional-property surcharge
Claim back the surcharge within 36 months when you do eventually sell the old home
Buy at a price just below a band threshold - £499K saves over £505K because of the FTB relief cliff edge
Cash-flow planning
SDLT is paid within 14 days of completion and is not financed by the mortgage - you need it in cash on top of your deposit. A first-time buyer of a £600K London flat needs £30K SDLT in addition to a £60K-£120K deposit. Build it into your budget when running the UK mortgage calculator.
Key takeaways
Use the calculators below with YOUR actual numbers - generic rules can be substantially off for individual situations.
Tax brackets, contribution limits, and rate tables update annually - bookmark and check back in February-April.
Most planning decisions hinge on marginal tax rate, not effective rate.
For complex situations a fee-only fiduciary advisor or CA is usually worth the cost; for simple ones a robo-advisor suffices.
Bookmark this page - we update annually as authorities publish next year's tables.
By audience: what to focus on
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NRIs / expats
Tax residency rules (183-day, tie-breaker), double-taxation treaties, foreign tax credits all come into play. NRI restrictions on PPF (no new accounts) but expanded options on NPS. Cross-border income often needs specialist advice.
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Sequence-of-returns risk in early retirement is the largest threat. Glide-path asset allocation, Roth-conversion analysis in low-income years, Required Minimum Distribution planning, and Medicare/healthcare gap funding (US) are the big items.
Quick reference: 10 specific scenarios
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What is the most important thing to know about this topic?
The single most important takeaway is to use the calculators below with YOUR actual numbers rather than relying on rules of thumb. Personal finance is heavily sensitive to individual variables (tax bracket, time horizon, country, age, employment type, dependents). A blanket rule that works for one household can be substantially wrong for another.
Where can I find authoritative source data for this?
Always trace back to the official issuer: IRS revenue procedures for US tax brackets, CBDT notifications for India, HMRC bulletins for UK, CRA tax tables for Canada, ATO website for Australia. Avoid relying on secondary sources for the numbers that drive your tax filing.
How often do these numbers change?
Most tax brackets, contribution limits, and rate tables update annually in the budget cycle for that jurisdiction. Some (like the US Federal Reserve rates, RBI repo rate) change at policy meetings 4-8 times per year. Bookmark this page and check back in February-April for next-year updates.
Does this apply to non-resident / NRI / expat scenarios?
Cross-border situations have additional complexity (tax residency, treaty positions, foreign tax credits, FBAR/FATCA reporting). The general framework here applies but the specific numbers may differ. For multi-country income, consult a cross-border tax specialist before filing.
Yes. The math here feeds directly into retirement-corpus and FIRE calculators in the related-tools section. Most retirees model 25x annual spending as their target nest egg (the inverse of the 4% safe withdrawal rule) using these underlying tax and return assumptions.
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Calculators use the latest published rate tables from each country's tax authority and update annually. For tax filing, ALWAYS verify with the official software or a qualified accountant. The calculators here are accurate for planning, salary negotiation, and retirement projection - not a substitute for filing software.
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What's the difference between effective and marginal tax rate?
Marginal rate is the tax on your NEXT dollar of income (the top of your bracket). Effective rate is total tax divided by total income - usually much lower because progressive brackets tax earlier income at lower rates. Deductions save tax at your marginal rate, not effective. Most planning decisions hinge on marginal rate, not effective.
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Updated for FY 2025-26 (India), Tax Year 2025-26 (UK), Tax Year 2026 (US), Tax Year 2025 (Canada and Australia). The trust block at the top of this page shows the verified date and authority sources for the rate tables used.
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