What is Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)? What are the rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)?
This is a freeview 'At a glance' guide to SDLT rates and allowances.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is paid on the purchase of an interest in land as a percentage of the purchase consideration. Different rates apply according to the type of property and the type of purchaser.
SDLT At a glance
- SDLT is calculated on a banding system which was introduced from:
- 4 December 2014 for residential property and
- 17 March 2016 for non-residential and mixed-use property.
- No SDLT is payable on a freehold property costing £40,000 or less unless the acquisition is part of a linked transaction, if the property is a leasehold, the same limit applies and the annual rent must also be less than £1,000 to avoid a charge.
- SDLT is payable at a residential rate if a property and its grounds are a 'dwelling': that is, residential by nature, including a holiday home or garden, there are exclusions for certain properties, for a definition of a dwelling
- A higher additional 5% (3% before 31 October 2024) rate of SDLT applies on the purchase of a second home or if a dwelling is acquired by a Non-Natural Person.
- First-time buyers receive a 3% discount on the purchase of a home costing £625,000 (£500,000 before 23 September 2022, and after 31 March 2025) or less.
- When two or more dwellings are acquired as part of the same transaction or a Linked transaction a claim for Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR) could have reduced the SDLT bill before 1 June 2024.
- At the Spring Budget 2024 the government announced the abolition of MDR from 1 June 2024
- See Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR)
-
Companies: higher value residential property (subject to the ATED charge)
- Where a company, or another non-natural person, acquires residential property costing more than £500,000, a 17% SDLT rate is charged.
- The 5% higher rate surcharge will not apply where the 17% rate applies.
- Non-Natural Persons include:
- Companies.
- Partnership with corporate members.
- Collective investment schemes.
- See SDLT: Residential property higher rates
- See Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED)
- SDLT is also payable on the net present value of any rents payable for leasehold residential property.
- See SDLT: leases
- Non-resident purchasers of UK residential property are subject to a surcharge.
- Properties purchased within a Freeport tax site can be exempt from SDLT as can those purchased in an Investment Zone.
Since 1 April 2018 SDLT only applies to properties in England and Northern Ireland.
- Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced SDLT for properties in Scotland on 1 April 2015.
- Welsh Land Transaction Tax (LTT) applies from 1 April 2018 for properties in Wales.
Coronavirus
- Between July 8 2020 and 31 March 2021, a temporary extension to the nil rate threshold (to £500,000) applied to residential properties for both basic SDLT and higher rates due to Coronavirus. This was extended to 30 June 2021 at the same rate, with a £250,000 limit applied between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2021.
- On 3 June 2020, HMRC updated their guidance on exceptional circumstances that allow refunds following the sale of the main residence outside of the normal three-year limit to specifically include the impact of COVID-19 preventing the sale. This was updated on 3 June 2021 to include delays caused by government-imposed restrictions or public authority action which prevented the sale. See SDLT: Residential property higher rates
The Scottish Parliament also temporarily extended its refund period for land and buildings transaction tax from 18 months to three years. See LBTT: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax
Time limits and penalties
The deadline for filing an SDLT Return and paying any tax due is 14 days (30 days to 1 March 2019) from the effective date of the transaction.
There is no penalty for late payment but interest is charged from the due date up to the payment date.
Penalties for late filing:
- Within three months of the filing date fixed penalty £100.
- Between three and 12 months of the filing date fixed penalty £200.
- More than 12 months after filing date tax geared penalty is up to 100% in addition to the fixed penalty.
Tax geared penalties of between 0% and 100% apply if errors are made in a document which leads to a loss of tax, see Penalties: Errors in returns and documents.
Special SDLT rules
- If two or more dwellings are acquired, Multiple Dwellings Relief can be claimed.
- Two more transactions which form part of a single scheme, arrangement or series of transactions between the same vendor and purchaser are caught by the Linked Transactions rules.
SDLT rates
Residential Property rates
From 1 April 2025
|
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate |
Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
Non-resident Basic SDLT rate |
Non-resident Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
|
Up to 125,000 |
0% | 5% | 2% | 7% |
| 125,001 - 250,000 | 2% | 7% | 4% | 9% |
|
250,001 - 925,000 |
5% | 10% | 7% | 12% |
|
925,001 - 1,500,000 |
10% | 15% | 12% | 17% |
| over 1,500,000 | 12% | 17% | 14% | 19% |
From 31 October 2024 to 31 March 2025
|
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate |
Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
Non-resident Basic SDLT rate |
Non-resident Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
|
Up to 250,000 |
0% | 5% | 2% | 7% |
|
250,001 - 925,000 |
5% | 10% | 7% | 12% |
|
925,001 - 1,500,000 |
10% | 15% | 12% | 17% |
| over 1,500,000 | 12% | 17% | 14% | 19% |
From 23 September 2022 to 30 October 2024
|
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate |
Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
Non-resident Basic SDLT rate |
Non-resident Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
|
Up to 250,000 |
0% | 3% | 2% | 5% |
|
250,001 - 925,000 |
5% | 8% | 7% | 10% |
|
925,001 - 1,500,000 |
10% | 13% | 12% | 15% |
| over 1,500,000 | 12% | 15% | 14% | 17% |
From 1 October 2021 to 22 September 2022
|
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate |
Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
Non-resident Basic SDLT rate |
Non-resident Higher SDLT rate: additional property owner/company* |
|
Up to 125,000 |
0% | 3% | 2% | 5% |
|
125,001 – 250,000 |
2% | 5% | 4% | 7% |
|
250,001 - 925,000 |
5% | 8% | 7% | 10% |
|
925,001 - 1,500,000 |
10% | 13% | 12% | 15% |
| over 1,500,000 | 12% | 15% | 14% | 17% |
From 1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021
|
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate | Higher SDLT rate |
Non-resident Basic SDLT rate |
Non-resident Higher SDLT rate |
|
Up to 250,000 |
0% | 3% | 2% | 5% |
|
250,001 – 925,000 |
5% | 8% | 7% | 10% |
|
925,001 – 1,500,000 |
10% | 13% | 12% | 15% |
|
1,500,001 and over |
12% | 15% | 14% | 17% |
From 8 July 2020 to 30 June 2021
|
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate | Higher SDLT rate |
Non-resident Basic SDLT rate |
Non-resident Higher SDLT rate |
|
Up to 500,000* |
0% | 3% | 2% | 5% |
|
500,001 – 925,000 |
5% | 8% | 7% | 10% |
|
925,001 – 1,500,000 |
10% | 13% | 12% | 15% |
|
1,500,001 and over |
12% | 15% | 14% | 17% |
From 1 April 2016 to 7 July 2020
|
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate |
Higher SDLT rate |
|
0 -125,000 |
0% |
3% |
|
125,001 – 250,000 |
2% | 5% |
|
250,001 – 925,000 |
5% | 8% |
|
925,001 – 1,500,000 |
10% | 13% |
|
1,500,001 and over |
12% | 15% |
First-time Buyers' Relief
From 22 November 2017 to 7 July 2020 and from 1 July 2021 onwards.
First-time buyers receive an SDLT discount on the purchase of their first property provided that the consideration is £625,000 (£500,000 before 23 September 2022 and from 1 April 2025) or less.
| Proportion of consideration | Rate |
| £0-425,000 (£0-300,000 before 23 September 2022 and from 1 April 2025) | 0% |
| £425,001-625,000 (£300,001-500,000 before 23 September 2022 and from 1 April 2025) | 5% |
If the purchase price is over £625,000 (£500,000 before 23 September 2022 and from 1 April 2025) normal SDLT rates apply.
Companies & Non-Natural Persons (NNPs)
The higher rate (as above) applies on the purchase of residential property.
*Companies & NNPs pay a 17% (previously 15%) rate on higher-value residential property unless an exemption applies.
|
Higher-value property only Cost |
SDLT rate |
| From 31 October 2024 over £500,000 | 17% |
| From 20 March 2014 to 30 October 2024 over £500,000 | 15% |
| From February 2012 to 19 March 2014 over £2m |
Non-resident companies (including UK registered companies controlled by non-residents) pay a non-resident surcharge on top of either the non-resident higher rate or if the property is 'high value' the higher value rate.
Non-Natural Persons include:
- Companies.
- Partnership with corporate members.
- Collective investment schemes.
See SDLT: Residential property higher rates
How SDLT works
Apply the rates specified to the proportion of the purchase price falling within each band.
E.g. A house purchased on 30 June 2025 for £950,000 by a buyer (who is not subject to the higher charge) will attract SDLT of £38,750.
|
Proportion of consideration £ |
Rate |
Amount £ |
| 0 -125,000 | 0% | 0 |
| 125,001 – 250,000 | 2% | 2,500 |
| 250,001 – 925,000 | 5% | 33,750 |
| 925,001 -950,000 | 10% | 2,500 |
| Total | £38,750 |
Non-residential property rates
The SDLT regime for non-residential and mixed-use property changed to a banding system on 17 March 2016.
Non-residential property includes:
- Commercial property such as shops or offices.
- Agricultural land.
- Forests.
- Any other land or property which is not used as a dwelling.
- Six or more residential properties bought in a single transaction.
- A mixed-use property is one that incorporates both residential and non-residential elements.
Non-residential rates are as follows:
|
Band: market price £ |
Non-residential |
|
0-150,000 |
0% |
|
150,001 - 250,000 |
2% |
|
Over 250,000 |
5% |
Small print & links
Small Print and Links
SDLT: Stamp Duty Land Tax, start here
What is SDLT? What are the SDLT rates? What is exempt from SDLT? What reliefs are available? When are returns due? When can you amend a return?
SDLT: Residential property higher rates
What Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) rate applies for the purchase of a second home? What is the SDLT higher rate? Are there any reliefs from the SDLT higher rate?
HMRC SDLT rates and thresholds (these also give you the rates for leases)
SDLT legislation Finance Act 2003 Part 4. Section 55 contains the rates chargeable.
Legislation relating to the higher rate will be included at Section 56A and Schedule 5A.
Also see Finance Act 2016 Part 8: sections 127 & 128.