UK Stamp Duty Calculator 2026/27

In England and Northern Ireland the 2026/27 rates are 0% up to £125,000, 2% from £125,001 to £250,000, 5% from £250,001 to £925,000, 10% from £925,001 to £1.5 million and 12% above that. Each rate applies only to the slice of the price that falls in that band. On top of those rates you may owe 5% if the purchase gives you an additional property and 2% if you are non-UK resident, each charged on the whole price.

No. The current thresholds took effect on 1 April 2025, when the temporary nil-rate band of £250,000 reverted to £125,000 and first-time buyer relief fell back to £300,000. The Budget confirmed no further change for 2026-27, so the same rates, thresholds and surcharges apply throughout this year. Scotland and Wales also held their rates for 2026-27.

Often yes, but it depends on days rather than citizenship. A 2% surcharge applies in England and Northern Ireland where a buyer is non-UK resident for the transaction, and you are treated as non-UK resident if you were present in the UK on fewer than 183 days in the 12 months before completion. An American who has already lived in the UK for a year normally escapes it, while one buying before or shortly after arriving usually pays it.

You count the days on which you were in the UK at midnight during the 365 days ending on the day before completion. Reach 183 and you are UK resident for this purpose; fall short and the 2% applies. This is a standalone SDLT test and is not the Statutory Residence Test used for income tax, so it is entirely possible to be UK resident for income tax and non-UK resident for stamp duty in the same year.

Yes, if you become UK resident afterwards. You qualify for a repayment if you spend at least 183 days in the UK in any continuous 365-day period that starts up to 364 days before completion and ends up to 365 days after it. You claim by amending the SDLT return, and the amendment must be made within two years of the effective date of the transaction. Many buyers who relocate shortly after purchase never make this claim.

Yes. The 5% higher rates look at residential property you own anywhere in the world, so a house in California or an apartment in New York counts. An American buying a first UK home while still owning a US home is therefore treated as buying an additional property and pays the 5% on the whole price, unless the UK purchase replaces the overseas property as the main residence and that property is sold.

Only if they have never owned a dwelling anywhere in the world, including in the United States. The relief is not about whether you have owned in the UK. It is also restricted to individuals, requires you to intend to occupy the property as your only or main residence, and is withdrawn entirely once the price exceeds £500,000. In practice very few internationally mobile buyers qualify.

In England and Northern Ireland the relief raises the nil-rate band to £300,000 and charges 5% on the slice from £300,001 to £500,000, saving a maximum of £5,000 on a £500,000 purchase. Above £500,000 the relief is lost completely, so a £505,000 purchase costs materially more than a £500,000 one. In Scotland the equivalent relief lifts the nil-rate band to £175,000 and is worth up to £600. Wales has no first-time buyer relief.

Where the purchase means you will own more than one residential property and you are not replacing your main residence, the higher rates add 5 percentage points to every band in England and Northern Ireland. The surcharge only applies where the price is £40,000 or more, and once it applies it is charged on the entire price rather than just the excess. Scotland charges 8% as the Additional Dwelling Supplement and Wales uses a separate higher-rate table.

Yes, where the new property replaces your main residence. If you sell or give away your previous main home within three years of the purchase, you can reclaim the surcharge. The claim must be made within twelve months of the sale or twelve months of the filing date for the SDLT return, whichever is later. No refund is available if you or your spouse keep any interest in the old property.

Both surcharges stack. A non-UK resident buying an additional property in England or Northern Ireland pays the standard rates plus 5% plus 2%, which produces effective band rates of 7%, 9%, 12%, 17% and 19%. On a £1.5 million purchase that is £223,750 rather than the £93,750 a UK resident buying their only home would pay, so the surcharges can easily exceed the base tax.

A company or other non-natural person buying a dwelling in England or Northern Ireland for more than £500,000 pays a single 17% charge on the whole price, with a further 2% if it is non-UK resident. Reliefs can take a purchase out of the 17% charge, for example where the property is held in a genuine property rental business or by a developer, in which case the banded rates plus the 5% apply instead. Corporate ownership also brings the annual charge on enveloped dwellings into play.

Yes, they are separate devolved taxes. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, with a nil-rate band to £145,000 and an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, with a nil-rate band to £225,000, no first-time buyer relief and its own higher-rate table. Neither has a non-resident surcharge, so an American buying in Edinburgh or Cardiff avoids the 2% that applies in London.

In England and Northern Ireland the SDLT return and the payment are both due within 14 days of completion. In Scotland and Wales the deadline is 30 days. Your conveyancer normally files and pays on your behalf on completion day, but the legal obligation and any penalties and interest rest with you as the buyer.

Stamp duty is payable in cash on completion and cannot be borrowed against the property itself, although some buyers increase the mortgage on the purchase to free up cash elsewhere. Lenders will not lend against the tax, so it has to come from your own funds. For cross-border buyers this matters twice over, because moving the money can also crystallise a currency gain.

No. Stamp duty is a transfer tax rather than an income tax, so it does not generate a Foreign Tax Credit on Form 1116 and it is not deductible against your income. It is instead added to the cost basis of the property, which reduces the taxable gain when you eventually sell. Keeping the completion statement is therefore worth real money years later, and this calculator shows the dollar figure to record.

Your basis is fixed in US dollars using the exchange rate on the date you acquire the property, and it includes the purchase price plus stamp duty, legal fees and survey costs. It does not move afterwards, however the pound moves. That fixed dollar basis is what produces the notorious mismatch on sale, where a property that barely rose in sterling can show a large dollar gain purely because of currency.

Possibly. The United States taxes citizens on worldwide gains, and the main home exclusion removes only $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, where the ownership and use tests are met. The United Kingdom usually exempts a main residence entirely through Private Residence Relief, so there is often no UK tax to credit against the US bill. Repaying a sterling mortgage can also create a separate taxable currency gain.

Owning a property directly is not itself reportable, but the arrangements around it frequently are. A UK bank account opened to fund the purchase or receive rent counts towards the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds, and holding the property through a company or a partnership brings its own reporting. Getting the structure right before completion is far cheaper than unwinding it afterwards.

It applies the published 2026/27 rates, bands and surcharges for all three UK tax regimes and handles the interactions that most calculators skip, including the loss of first-time buyer relief above £500,000 and the corporate flat rate. It does not model linked transactions, multiple dwellings, mixed-use purchases, shared ownership or lease premiums with rent. Treat the result as a reliable working figure and confirm it with your conveyancer before completion.