Updated to 11 December 2024 LTT rates
Buy-to-Let LTT Calculator (Wales)
Buy-to-let, second home, or any additional property in Wales: the separate higher-residential bands (not a per-band surcharge like SDLT, not a flat supplement like LBTT). Each band has its own legislated rate.
- Purchase price (94.0%)
- LTT (6.0%)
LTT adds about 6.4% on top of the purchase price.
| Purchase price | £280,000 |
|---|---|
| Higher: 5.0% band | |
| £180,000 at 5.0% | £9,000 |
| Higher: 8.5% band | |
| £70,000 at 8.5% | £5,950 |
| Higher: 10.0% band | |
| £30,000 at 10.0% | £3,000 |
| Total LTT | £17,950 |
| Total cash required | £297,950 |
Information
Buying a buy-to-let, second home, holiday home, or any additional residential property in Wales triggers the higher residential rates: a separate band schedule with materially elevated rates compared to the main residential bands. Limited-company purchases also fall here; Wales has no special corporate rate.
How LTT's higher rates differ from England's and Scotland's. England's SDLT adds a flat +5% surcharge to every band of the standard table. Scotland's LBTT adds a flat 8% ADS on the entire purchase price, on top of standard LBTT. Wales is different: the higher-rates band table is independently legislated; each band has its own rate, not derived from the main rates. The result is broadly comparable in £ terms but mechanically distinct.
Welsh Budget 2024. Every higher-rates band was raised by 1 percentage point effective 11 December 2024 (Main residential rates were unchanged). Change the completion-date input to see pre-Dec-2024 figures.
Refund eligibility. If you're replacing your only main residence and the previous sale completes within 3 years, the higher-rates LTT is refundable down to the main-rates figure. This calc shows the headline higher-rates total; refund claim is downstream.
What's not. England and Northern Ireland have SDLT; Scotland has LBTT. Use the region pills above to switch. Mixed-use / commercial property has a different rate schedule.
FAQ
- What counts as an additional property under LTT higher rates?
Any residential property you'll own at completion that isn't your main residence: buy-to-let, holiday homes, accidental-landlord cases. The higher rates also apply to all corporate purchases. Refundable if you replace your only main residence and sell the previous one within 3 years.
- Is there a first-time-buyer relief in Wales?
No. Wales chose to set the highest universal nil-rate band in the UK (£225,000) instead of a separate FTB carve-out. An FTB and a non-FTB buying the same home in Wales pay the same LTT. England (£300,000 FTB nil-band with a £500,000 cap) and Scotland (£175,000 FTB nil-band, no cap) handle the FTB case via dedicated relief.
- I'm buying through a limited company: is there a special Welsh rate?
No. Companies and other non-natural persons pay the higher residential rates by default, the same as any additional-property buyer. Wales has no equivalent of England's flat 17% corporate rate or Scotland's flat ADS.
- How do the higher residential rates work?
They're a fully separate band table for additional-property purchases. Each band has its own rate (currently 5% to £180k, 8.5% to £250k, 10% to £400k, 12.5% to £750k, 15% to £1.5m, 17% above). It's NOT 'standard rates + Δ'; the rates are independently legislated. Two separate £40,000 tests apply and this calculator runs only one of them: the price must reach that figure, which is what this page prices, and the interest you keep in the other property must be worth at least as much, which this page never asks about and therefore assumes. A retained interest below the floor means the main schedule applies. That second test is for individual buyers; a company is tested on the price alone. The Welsh Budget 2024 raised every higher-rates band by 1 percentage point effective 11 December 2024.
- Do I pay LTT in England or Scotland?
No. England and Northern Ireland have Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT); Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). Use the region selector at the top of this page to switch between them.
Recent changes
-
Welsh Budget 2024: higher residential rates raised by 1 percentage point across every band. Main residential rates unchanged.
-
Main residential nil-rate band permanently raised from £180,000 to £225,000, settling above the original launch threshold but below the holiday-era level. Higher rates table unchanged.
-
Pandemic holiday ended. The main residential nil-rate band reverted to £180,000, with £180,001 to £250,000 charged at 3.5% again, until the permanent £225,000 band arrived in October 2022.
-
Welsh Budget 2020: higher residential rates raised by 1 percentage point across every band. Main residential rates unchanged; the holiday running at the time applied to the main rates only.
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Pandemic holiday: the main residential nil-rate band was raised from £180,000 to £250,000 for transactions with an effective date from 27 July 2020, originally to 31 March 2021 and later extended to 30 June 2021. Higher residential rates were not relieved.
-
Land Transaction Tax replaces UK Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales. Initial main residential bands established with a £180,000 nil-rate; higher residential rates introduced as a separate band table from day one. Administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority.
Sources
- Land Transaction Tax: rates and bands (Welsh Government)
- Higher residential rates of Land Transaction Tax (Welsh Government)
Disclaimer
Not financial or legal advice. Figures are computed from the legislative tables published by the Welsh Revenue Authority and do not account for refund eligibility (replacement-of-main-residence within 3 years) or other personal-circumstance adjustments. Consult a Welsh conveyancer for the authoritative figure on your specific purchase.
