Three different taxes, not one UK-wide "Stamp Duty"
There's no single UK-wide property tax. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), administered by HMRC. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT), administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority, since replacing SDLT there in 2018. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), administered by Revenue Scotland. Each is a genuinely separate tax with its own rate bands, not just a regional variation of the same rules.
Like Income Tax, all three are banded: you pay the rate for each band on the portion of the price that falls within it, not a single flat rate on the whole price. A £300,000 purchase in England, for example, pays 0% on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000, and 5% on the remaining £50,000.
Buying an additional property: three different mechanisms
All three nations charge more for buying a second home, holiday let or buy-to-let, but the method genuinely differs. England and Northern Ireland add a flat 5% surcharge to the standard SDLT rate at every band. Scotland adds a flat 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) on the entire purchase price (not banded), on top of standard LBTT. Wales does something different again: it uses a completely separate, standalone higher-rate band table, rather than adding a percentage to the standard rates.
This means you can't reliably estimate one nation's additional-property tax by applying another nation's method, which is a common source of mistakes when comparing purchases across the UK. Select your nation and buyer type above and the calculator applies the correct method automatically.
First-time buyer relief varies by nation too
England and Northern Ireland give first-time buyers 0% SDLT up to £300,000 and 5% up to £500,000 (with no relief at all above £500,000). Scotland raises LBTT's nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000 for first-time buyers, worth up to £600. Wales offers no first-time buyer relief at all — first-time buyers there pay the same standard rates as everyone else.
Example calculations across all three nations
These worked examples come straight from the calculator above, so the figures match exactly what you'd see entering the same numbers yourself.
England, standard purchase
£300,000
- Stamp Duty Land Tax
- £5,000
England, first-time buyer
£280,000
- Stamp Duty Land Tax
- £0
Wales, standard purchase
£300,000
- Land Transaction Tax
- £4,500
Wales, additional property
£300,000
- Land Transaction Tax
- £19,950
Scotland, first-time buyer
£200,000
- Land and Buildings Transaction Tax
- £500
Scotland, additional property (ADS)
£300,000
- Land and Buildings Transaction Tax
- £28,600
Frequently asked questions
Is Stamp Duty the same across the whole UK?
No. There are three separate, legally distinct property transaction taxes: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland, administered by HMRC; Land Transaction Tax (LTT) in Wales, administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority; and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in Scotland, administered by Revenue Scotland. Each has its own rate bands and its own rules for additional properties and first-time buyers.
What is Land Transaction Tax?
Land Transaction Tax is the name for property transaction tax in Wales specifically. It replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales on 1 April 2018, when the Welsh Government took over responsibility for taxing land transactions from HMRC. It uses its own rate bands, different from both SDLT and LBTT.
How is buying an additional property (second home or buy-to-let) taxed differently in each nation?
All three charge more for an additional property, but the mechanism is different in each. England and Northern Ireland add a flat 5% surcharge on top of the standard SDLT rate at every band. Scotland adds a flat 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) on the whole purchase price, on top of standard LBTT. Wales uses an entirely separate, standalone 'higher rates' band table, rather than adding a surcharge to the main rates — so you can't work out the Welsh higher rate just by adding a percentage to the standard Welsh rate.
Does Wales have first-time buyer relief?
No. Unlike England, Northern Ireland (SDLT) and Scotland (LBTT), Wales has never offered a first-time buyer discount on Land Transaction Tax. First-time buyers in Wales pay the same standard rates as any other buyer purchasing their only or main home.
How does Scotland's first-time buyer relief work?
It raises LBTT's nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000 for qualifying first-time buyers, saving 2% tax on the extra £30,000 that becomes tax-free — a maximum saving of £600. It doesn't remove tax on higher bands, just extends how much is taxed at 0% before the 2% band starts.
How does England's first-time buyer relief work?
First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay 0% SDLT on the first £300,000 of a property's price, and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. If the price is over £500,000, the relief doesn't apply at all, and standard rates are charged on the full amount instead.
Do overseas buyers pay extra?
In England and Northern Ireland, non-UK residents pay an additional 2% SDLT surcharge on top of whatever other rates apply (standard, first-time buyer, or additional property), based on residency tests around time spent in the UK. This calculator doesn't include that surcharge; check GOV.UK if it applies to you.
Is Land Transaction Tax the same as the Land Registry fee?
No, they're completely separate. Land Transaction Tax (or SDLT/LBTT) is a tax on the transaction itself, paid to the relevant tax authority. The Land Registry fee is a separate administrative charge paid to register the change of ownership. Both are typically paid as part of the same house purchase, usually collected together by your solicitor.
Methodology and assumptions
This calculator assumes:
- A single residential property purchase in your own name, with no non-UK residency surcharge (2% in England & Northern Ireland), and no mixed-use or commercial elements.
- "First-time buyer" means you (and anyone buying with you) have never owned a residential property anywhere in the world, and are buying your only or main residence, which is a condition of the relief in every nation that offers it.
- "Additional property" assumes the standard surcharge/supplement/higher-rate applies; some situations (such as replacing your main residence within a set time limit) can avoid it, which this calculator doesn't check for.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest penny.
Sources
Rates for all three nations are taken directly from:
More UK calculators
See all →Salary sacrifice
See how sacrificing salary for a pension or similar benefit affects your take-home pay, Income Tax and National Insurance.
Salary sacrifice pension
A pension-only version of the salary sacrifice calculator: see the tax and National Insurance saving from sacrificing salary into your workplace pension.
Take-home pay
Enter your salary, paid annually, monthly, four-weekly or weekly, and see your Income Tax, National Insurance and net pay.
Hourly wage
Convert an hourly rate into weekly, monthly and annual take-home pay, and check it against the National Minimum Wage.
Adjusted net income
Work out your adjusted net income, and what it means for your Personal Allowance taper and the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
Salary exchange
Salary exchange is another name for salary sacrifice: see the tax and National Insurance saving from exchanging salary for a pension contribution.
Salary sacrifice car
See the real Income Tax, National Insurance and Benefit-in-Kind cost of an electric or low-emission car salary sacrifice scheme.
Loan overpayment
See how much interest you could save, and how much sooner you'd be debt-free, by overpaying a loan or mortgage.
Equity release
See a broad illustrative estimate of how much you could release from your home, and how a lifetime mortgage balance grows as interest rolls up.
Shared ownership
See the monthly mortgage, rent and service charge cost of buying a share of a home through Shared Ownership.
Buy-to-let
Work out the monthly cost of a buy-to-let mortgage, your rental yield, and whether the rent clears a lender's affordability stress test.
Self build
Plan your own stage drawdown schedule and see the interest-only cost during the build, plus the mortgage payment after it converts to a standard repayment mortgage.
Part-time salary
Convert a full-time equivalent salary into a pro-rata part-time salary based on your hours, and see your part-time take-home pay after tax.
Salary increase
See how a pay rise affects your take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance. Enter a percentage, a £ amount, or your new salary.
Corporation tax
Work out UK Corporation Tax on your limited company's profit, including Marginal Relief between the Small Profits Rate and Main Rate.
Gross profit
Work out your gross profit and gross profit margin from revenue and cost of goods sold.
Rent affordability
See what percentage of your take-home pay a rent goes on, checked against the commonly-cited 30% affordability threshold.
Land Registry fees
Look up the HM Land Registry registration fee for buying, transferring or remortgaging a property, for both paper and electronic applications.
Rental income tax
Work out Income Tax on your rental profit, including the £1,000 Property Allowance and the 20% mortgage interest tax reduction.
Company car tax
Work out the Benefit-in-Kind tax on a company car, and how much it reduces your take-home pay — no salary sacrifice required.
Pension withdrawal tax
See how much tax you'll pay taking money out of your pension, including the 25% tax-free lump sum and emergency tax.
Pension carry forward
Work out how much unused Annual Allowance from the last 3 tax years you can carry forward for a bigger pension contribution this year.
Self-employed tax
Work out Income Tax, Class 4 and Class 2 National Insurance on your self-employment profit, including the £1,000 Trading Allowance.
London taxi fare
Estimate a London black cab fare range using TfL's own published typical fares, for your journey distance, tariff and time of day.
NHS pay
See your NHS take-home pay by Agenda for Change band and pay point, including London weighting and NHS Pension contributions, for all four UK nations.
NHS annual leave
Work out your NHS annual leave entitlement by length of service, pro-rated for part-time hours, for all four UK nations.