UK · Buying a home
Stamp duty, LBTT and LTT compared: buying a home in England, Scotland or Wales
The UK has three different taxes on buying a home, with different bands, first-time buyer rules and surcharges. Here's how they compare at typical prices, with worked examples.
By Stuart Mathieson · · 6 min read
People talk about "stamp duty" as if it were one UK tax, but it isn't. Stamp Duty Land Tax only applies in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and Wales has Land Transaction Tax (LTT). They work the same way in principle, but the bands, reliefs and surcharges are different enough that the same house price can cost thousands more in one country than another.
I'm in Scotland, where it's easy to find a stamp duty calculator that quietly assumes English rules, so I built the stamp duty calculator to handle all three. This guide covers the rates in force in November 2026 for residential property.
How all three work
All three are "slice" taxes, like income tax. Each rate applies only to the part of the price that falls inside its band, and you add the slices up. A house that costs £1 more than a band threshold only pays the higher rate on that £1.
The tax is paid around the time the purchase completes, and your solicitor will normally file the return and pay it on your behalf. Either way, it's a cost to plan for alongside your deposit and legal fees.
The standard rates
These apply when the home you're buying will be the only residential property you own.
| Portion of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% |
| Over £1.5 million | 12% |
| Portion of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% |
| Over £750,000 | 12% |
| Portion of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £225,000 | 0% |
| £225,001 to £400,000 | 6% |
| £400,001 to £750,000 | 7.5% |
| £750,001 to £1.5 million | 10% |
| Over £1.5 million | 12% |
Scotland's 10% band starting at £325,000 is the big difference. In England you don't reach 10% until £925,000.
First-time buyers
Each country treats first-time buyers differently:
- England and Northern Ireland: no tax up to £300,000, then 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. If the price is over £500,000, you can't claim the relief at all and pay the standard rates on the whole price. Everyone you're buying with has to be a first-time buyer too.
- Scotland: the relief raises the nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000, which saves up to £600. Above that, the standard rates apply, and the relief isn't available on a purchase that also pays the Additional Dwelling Supplement (more on that below). Revenue Scotland's guidance sets out exactly who counts as a first-time buyer.
- Wales: there's no first-time buyer relief. But the nil-rate band of £225,000 is the highest of the three, so many first-time buyers in Wales pay nothing anyway.
How they compare
Here's what a first-time buyer and someone moving home (selling one home and buying another) would pay at four prices.
| Price | England and NI | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| £150,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| £250,000 | £0 | £1,500 | £1,500 |
| £350,000 | £2,500 | £7,750 | £7,500 |
| £500,000 | £10,000 | £22,750 | £18,000 |
| Price | England and NI | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| £150,000 | £500 | £100 | £0 |
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £2,100 | £1,500 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £8,350 | £7,500 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £23,350 | £18,000 |
Two things jump out. Scotland is the cheapest place to buy a modest home as a mover, because the 2% band starts higher than England's. But once prices pass £325,000, Scotland is by far the most expensive - a £500,000 home costs a first-time buyer more than twice as much in tax as in England.
A worked example
A home mover buying in Scotland for £350,000 pays:
| Portion | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| First £145,000 | 0% | £0 |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% | £2,100 |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% | £3,750 |
| £325,001 to £350,000 | 10% | £2,500 |
| Total | £8,350 |
Second homes and buy-to-let
If buying the property means you'll own more than one home, all three countries charge a surcharge. It applies to buy-to-lets and second homes, and generally to purchases of £40,000 or more. They work in quite different ways.
- England and Northern Ireland: 5% is added to every band. A £250,000 second home costs £15,000 instead of £2,500.
- Scotland: the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) is 8% of the whole price, on top of normal LBTT. A £250,000 second home costs £2,100 in LBTT plus £20,000 in ADS - £22,100 in all.
- Wales: a separate set of higher rates applies instead of the main rates, starting at 5% on the first £180,000 and rising to 17% over £1.5 million. A £250,000 second home costs £14,950.
| Price | England and NI | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| £150,000 | £8,000 | £12,100 | £7,500 |
| £250,000 | £15,000 | £22,100 | £14,950 |
| £350,000 | £25,000 | £36,350 | £24,950 |
| £500,000 | £40,000 | £63,350 | £42,450 |
When you're replacing your main home
The surcharge catches a lot of people who aren't landlords at all - they've simply bought their next home before selling their last one. All three countries have a way out:
- England and Northern Ireland: the extra 5% doesn't apply if the new property replaces your main residence and that residence was sold within 36 months.
- Scotland: if you pay ADS because your old home hasn't sold yet, you can claim it back if you sell it within 36 months of buying the new one, as long as it was your main residence and the new home is too. Revenue Scotland is strict about the deadline.
- Wales: a similar three-year window applies, either side of the sale of your old main home.
The details matter a lot here, so if you're in this situation, check with your solicitor before you complete.
Non-UK residents
In England and Northern Ireland there's an extra 2% surcharge if you're buying as a non-UK resident - broadly, if you weren't in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before buying. It stacks on top of everything else. A home mover paying £7,500 at £350,000 would pay £14,500 as a non-resident. Scotland and Wales don't have an equivalent.
What to take from this
- Check which country the property is in, not where you live now. The tax follows the property.
- Budget for the tax on top of your deposit and legal fees.
- If you're buying before selling, ask your solicitor how the surcharge and the refund rules apply - in Scotland especially, 8% of the price is a lot of money to wait on.
For your own figures, the stamp duty calculator works out SDLT, LBTT or LTT with a full breakdown of each band. For anything unusual - mixed-use property, shared ownership, several homes in one purchase, or companies buying - get advice from a solicitor or tax adviser, because there are special rules I haven't covered here.
Run your own numbers
Written by Stuart Mathieson
I'm a freelance web developer based in Scotland, and I build and maintain every calculator on this site myself. I check the figures in these guides against HMRC, the IRS and the other official sources listed below, but I'm not a tax adviser - for decisions that matter, talk to one. More about me.