Stamp Duty Calculator — SDLT, LBTT and LTT, All in One

Despite what most people call it, "stamp duty" is genuinely three different taxes depending on where in the UK you're buying — which is exactly why a proper stamp duty calculator needs to handle all three, rather than approximating with a single UK-wide rate. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), collected by Revenue Scotland. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT), collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority. All three are progressive, band-based taxes — but the thresholds, reliefs, and surcharge rates genuinely differ, sometimes significantly.

A generic UK-wide stamp duty calculator that ignores these differences will quietly give you the wrong number the moment you're buying outside England. This tool switches its entire rate structure — bands, first-time buyer relief, and surcharge — based on which nation you select, so the figure you get back is genuinely correct for where you're buying, not a rough average across three different systems.

Plenty of stamp duty calculator tools online still quote pre-April 2025 thresholds, since the rates changed meaningfully that year and a lot of older content simply hasn't been updated. This calculator reflects the rates genuinely in force through 2026: England's £125,000 standard nil-rate band (down from the temporary £250,000 threshold that expired), first-time buyer relief capped at £500,000 rather than the old £625,000 ceiling, and the additional property surcharge at 5% rather than the older 3% rate.

It's also genuinely comprehensive rather than England-only. Most UK stamp duty calculator tools default to SDLT and treat Scotland and Wales as an afterthought, if they're covered at all. This one treats all three nations as first-class options, with their own accurate bands and their own accurate reliefs — because a buyer in Cardiff or Edinburgh deserves the same accuracy as a buyer in London.

Since 1 April 2025, England and Northern Ireland's standard SDLT nil-rate threshold reverted to £125,000, after the temporary higher threshold introduced in September 2022 expired. These rates remained unchanged through 2026.

First-time buyer relief gives 0% on the first £300,000, and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. Properties above £500,000 receive no first-time buyer relief at all — you pay standard rates on the full amount instead.

Scotland's first-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate threshold to £175,000, with no upper price cap — unlike England's £500,000 cliff edge. The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) for second homes and buy-to-let purchases is 8% on the full price, higher than either England's or Wales's surcharge.

Wales has the highest nil-rate threshold of the three nations at £225,000, but is the only UK nation with no first-time buyer relief at all — every buyer pays the standard LTT rates regardless of first-time buyer status. A first-time buyer at £300,000 pays nothing in England, but around £4,500 in Wales. The higher-rate surcharge for additional properties is 5%.

Buying a second home, holiday let, or buy-to-let property triggers an additional property surcharge on top of standard rates. The surcharge increased from 3% to 5% in England and Northern Ireland effective 31 October 2024 (Autumn Budget 2024), and remains at 5% through 2026. It applies even if you're selling your current main residence, unless that sale completes on the same day or before the new purchase.

Non-UK residents buying in England or Northern Ireland pay a further 2% surcharge on every band, which stacks on top of the additional property surcharge if both apply — meaning a non-resident buying a second home could face a combined 7% surcharge above standard rates.

Stamp duty must be reported and paid within 14 days of completion. In practice, your conveyancer handles this as a routine part of the completion process — deducting the amount from the funds provided at completion and filing the return on your behalf, so you rarely need to think about the mechanics yourself.

You're buying a £300,000 home in England as a standard buyer, not a first-time buyer. £0 on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500), and 5% on the remaining £50,000 (£2,500). Total: £5,000.

As a first-time buyer instead, the entire £300,000 falls within the 0% nil-rate band. Total: £0 — over 50% of first-time buyer transactions in the UK are completely SDLT-free under current thresholds.

Now the same £300,000 property as a second home: 5% on the first £125,000 (£6,250), 7% on the next £125,000 (£8,750), and 10% on the remaining £50,000 (£5,000). Total: £20,000 — four times the standard-buyer figure, purely from the additional property surcharge. Running these three scenarios through the same stamp duty calculator shows exactly how much your buyer status changes the final bill, before you ever speak to a solicitor.

Official sources & further reading: check current rates at GOV.UK, Revenue Scotland, and the Welsh Revenue Authority. Browse every tool on the mortgage calculators homepage.