Updated to 1 April 2025 SDLT rates
First-Time Buyer Stamp Duty Calculator
First-time buyer Stamp Duty in England and Northern Ireland: zero on the first £300,000 up to a £500,000 property-price cap. See the relief, the cliff at £500k, and how the saving compares to the standard rates.
- Purchase price (99.3%)
- SDLT (0.7%)
SDLT adds about 0.7% on top of the purchase price.
| Purchase price | £350,000 |
|---|---|
| FTB: Nil rate | |
| £300,000 at 0% | £0 |
| FTB: 5% band | |
| £50,000 at 5% | £2,500 |
| Total SDLT | £2,500 |
| Total cash required | £352,500 |
Information
As a first-time buyer in England or Northern Ireland, you pay no SDLT on the first £300,000 of a purchase up to £500,000, saving up to £6,250 compared to a non-FTB buyer at the same price. Above £500,000 the relief disappears completely, and you pay standard rates on the entire purchase. This calculator shows you the saving against the standard rates, and what happens if the price tips over the £500,000 cap.
What's modelled. Standard residential rates, first-time buyer relief (when applicable), the +5% additional-property surcharge (was +3% before 31 October 2024), the corporate flat rate (17% on residential purchases over £500,000 by limited companies and other non-natural persons; was 15% before 1 April 2025), and the date-dependent rate changes since the September 2022 mini-budget.
The £500,000 cliff. The FTB cap is unforgiving; a purchase price of £500,001 forfeits the entire relief, so you'd pay the standard £15,000 SDLT instead of the FTB £10,000. This is one of the reasons completion negotiations sometimes settle just under round numbers; the calculator surfaces the cliff via the "First-time buyer saving" pill; tick FTB and try prices just under and just over £500,000 to see it.
Pre-April-2025 purchases. The FTB cap was higher (£625,000) between 23 September 2022 and 31 March 2025, with a higher nil-band ceiling (£425,000). Use the completion-date input to see how a historical purchase would have been taxed.
What's not. Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) have their own taxes and their own first-time buyer reliefs; dedicated calculators coming soon. Mixed-use / non-residential property has a different rate schedule. The non-UK resident +2% surcharge is out of scope for this calc.
FAQ
- What counts as a first-time buyer?
HMRC treats you as a first-time buyer if you've never owned freehold or leasehold residential property anywhere in the world. The relief applies even if you're buying jointly with a partner who's also an FTB; if either of you has owned property before, neither qualifies. Inherited property counts as previous ownership.
- What if I'm a first-time buyer?
If your purchase price is £500,000 or less and neither you nor any joint buyer has ever owned residential property anywhere in the world, you pay 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% on the slice between £300,001 and £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief disappears completely: you pay the standard rates on the whole amount. (For purchases between 23 Sep 2022 and 31 Mar 2025 the thresholds were £425,000 and £625,000 respectively; change the completion date to see.)
- What counts as an "additional property"?
Any residential property you'll own at completion that isn't your main residence: buy-to-let, holiday homes, and accidental-landlord cases (you're keeping your old flat while moving). The +5% surcharge (was +3% before 31 October 2024) applies to every band of the standard schedule. The surcharge does NOT apply when you're genuinely replacing your only main residence and selling the previous one within 3 years; you can claim a refund if the sale completes after the new purchase.
- Do I pay SDLT in Scotland or Wales?
No. Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT); Wales has Land Transaction Tax (LTT). Use the region selector at the top of this page to switch between them. All three are tiered like SDLT but with different bands, rates, and reliefs.
- Why is the corporate rate so high?
When a limited company (or any "non-natural person" such as a partnership with corporate members, collective investment scheme) buys residential property worth more than £500,000, HMRC applies a flat 17% rate (was 15% before 1 April 2025) on the entire purchase price. The rate exists to discourage owning residential property through corporate structures, previously a tactic for avoiding SDLT on subsequent share transfers. Genuine property-rental, property-development, and employee-accommodation providers can claim exemption and pay normal rates plus the additional-property surcharge, but those tests aren't modelled in this calc.
Recent changes
-
Thresholds reverted to pre-2022 levels. Residential nil-rate band dropped from £250,000 back to £125,000, with a new 2% band added to £250,000. First-time buyer relief tightened: nil-rate ceiling reverted to £300,000 and the property-price cap to £500,000 (down from £425,000 / £625,000). Corporate flat rate for residential purchases over £500,000 raised from 15% to 17%.
-
Autumn Budget: additional-property surcharge raised from +3% to +5% on every band of the standard residential schedule. Applied to second homes, buy-to-let, and any purchase where the buyer owns two or more residential properties at completion.
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Mini-budget: residential nil-rate band raised from £125,000 to £250,000. First-time buyer relief expanded: nil-rate ceiling raised to £425,000 with the property-price cap raised to £625,000 (from £300,000 / £500,000). The corporate flat rate stayed at 15% and the additional-property surcharge stayed at +3%; both rose later.
Sources
Disclaimer
Not financial or legal advice. Figures are computed from the legislative tables published by HMRC and do not account for personal circumstances such as joint-buyer FTB status, replacement-of-main-residence rules, multiple-dwellings relief, or linked transactions. Consult a conveyancer or qualified adviser for the authoritative figure on your specific purchase.
