Stamp duty in 2026: what buyers actually pay

The nil-rate band sits at £125,000, the second-home surcharge is 5%, and first-time buyer relief disappears entirely above £500,000. A plain-English breakdown of the real cost of moving.

Stamp duty is the cost buyers most often underestimate. It is banded rather than flat, it differs sharply depending on who you are, and it is payable in cash on completion — you usually cannot add it to the mortgage. Working it out before you offer is the difference between a comfortable purchase and a scramble in the final week.

The standard rates

In England and Northern Ireland you pay nothing on the first £125,000, 2% on the slice from £125,001 to £250,000, and 5% on the slice above that. It works like income tax: each rate applies only to the portion of the price within that band, not to the whole purchase price. On a £500,000 home that is nothing on the first £125,000, £2,500 across the second band, and 5% on the remaining £250,000.

First-time buyers, and the £500,000 cliff edge

First-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000, then 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief vanishes completely and standard rates apply to the whole purchase. That is a genuine cliff edge: buying just over the threshold can cost materially more than buying just under it.

Second homes and overseas buyers

Buying an additional property — a buy-to-let, a second home, or a purchase completing before you have sold your existing home — attracts a 5% surcharge on every band, applying from £40,000. That surcharge rose from 3% in October 2024. Non-UK resident buyers pay a further 2% on top, including on top of the additional-property surcharge where both apply.

Work out your stamp duty before you offer, not after. On a second home the surcharge alone can exceed the deposit people had budgeted for.

Budget for the whole bill

Add stamp duty to your legal fees, survey, mortgage arrangement fee and moving costs, and treat that total as your real cash requirement. If you replace your main residence but the sale completes late, you may pay the surcharge and reclaim it afterwards — within a time limit, so flag it to your solicitor early.

Rates and thresholds change at fiscal events, and Scotland and Wales operate separate taxes. Confirm current figures with HMRC or your solicitor before committing.