Enter a purchase price once and see the tax side by side across all three nations. England and Northern Ireland share the same Stamp Duty Land Tax rates, so this also tells you what you'd pay in NI.
Use the full agreed purchase price, not your deposit or mortgage amount. The tax is calculated on the whole price, then split into bands automatically.
Pick standard, first-time buyer, or additional property for a single purchase — see the key under the dropdown for which applies to you. Buying 2 or more dwellings in one transaction? Tick "I'm buying a portfolio" instead; the form switches to ask for the total price and number of dwellings, since portfolios follow entirely different rules in every nation.
This only changes the England/NI figure. Scotland and Wales don't charge a residency-based surcharge. You're non-resident for this purpose if you've spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before your purchase. This option is hidden in portfolio mode, since it doesn't apply there.
Each card shows the tax owed, the effective rate, and a short note on which relief or surcharge was applied. Compare the notes, not just the numbers — two similar figures can be reached for very different reasons.
This reveals the band-by-band maths behind each total, the same way an accountant would write it out — useful for checking the figure yourself or seeing exactly where a relief or surcharge changed the result.
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Tax amount | The total you'd owe in that nation at the price and buyer type (or portfolio details) entered. |
| Effective rate | Your tax as a percentage of the full price — useful for comparing nations at a glance without doing the maths yourself. Always lower than the top band your purchase reaches, since it's an average across the whole price. |
| Rate note | Which relief, surcharge, or rate table was used. This is the part that explains why the number is what it is. |
| Full calculation (optional) | The band-by-band working behind the total, only shown when "show full calculation" is ticked. |
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
Stamp Duty Land Tax is the tax HMRC charges when you buy a residential property or piece of land in England or Northern Ireland over a set price threshold. It's collected by HM Revenue and Customs, not by a devolved tax authority — England and Northern Ireland are the only two nations where HMRC handles the property transaction tax directly. SDLT is "progressive" in the same way income tax is: you don't pay one flat rate on the whole price, you pay increasing rates on each slice of the price as it crosses each threshold (0% on the first £125,000, then 2%, then 5%, and so on). Your solicitor or conveyancer normally files the SDLT return and pays it on your behalf out of your completion funds, within 14 days of completion — but you remain legally responsible for it being correct, even if someone else submits it.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT)
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is Scotland's own version of property transaction tax. It replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Scotland on 1 April 2015, when the power to tax property transactions was devolved to the Scottish Parliament. It's administered by Revenue Scotland, a completely separate tax authority from HMRC, and the rates and bands are set independently by the Scottish Government — changes announced in a UK Budget at Westminster have no effect on LBTT at all. Like SDLT, it's charged progressively in bands, but Scotland's bands and thresholds are different (the nil-rate band is £145,000, not £125,000, and the top 12% rate starts at £750,000 rather than £1.5 million). LBTT returns must be submitted to Revenue Scotland within 30 days of completion, a longer window than SDLT's 14 days.
Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS)
The Additional Dwelling Supplement is Scotland's surcharge on top of standard LBTT, charged when you buy a residential property and you'll end up owning more than one — a second home, a holiday let, or a buy-to-let, for example. It's currently a flat 8% (raised from 6% in December 2024), and the way it's calculated is genuinely different from England's equivalent surcharge: ADS is 8% of the entire purchase price, applied as a single lump sum, whereas England's 5% surcharge is added band by band the same way the main rates are. This makes ADS hit harder on lower-value second homes specifically, because there's no "first slice taxed lightly" effect — the whole price is charged at 8% from the very first pound. If you're buying a new main home before selling your old one, you'll usually pay ADS up front and can reclaim it from Revenue Scotland once your previous home sells, provided that happens within 36 months.
For completeness: Wales has its own equivalent too — Land Transaction Tax (LTT) — administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority, with its own separate rates and bands covered elsewhere on this page.
Why don't I pay the same tax wherever I buy in the UK?
Property transaction tax is devolved. Westminster sets Stamp Duty Land Tax for England and Northern Ireland, the Welsh Government sets Land Transaction Tax, and the Scottish Government sets Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. Each one is a completely separate piece of legislation with its own thresholds and reliefs — they just happen to tax the same kind of transaction.
As a first-time buyer, where do I pay the least tax?
It depends entirely on the price. England's relief is generous below £500,000 but disappears completely above it. Scotland's relief is smaller in cash terms but has no upper price cap. Wales gives no first-time buyer discount at all, so a Welsh first-time buyer pays exactly what an existing homeowner pays.
I'm buying a second home — which nation charges the most?
Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement is a flat 8% added to the entire purchase price, which makes it the steepest surcharge in cash terms on cheaper properties. England and Northern Ireland add 5% per band. Wales uses its own separate higher-rate band structure rather than a flat addition, which can land higher or lower depending on price.
Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished in England and Northern Ireland in 2024, but Wales and Scotland both kept their own versions — and Scotland has a rule the others don't.
The dwelling count threshold matters more than people expect: in England, the same £1.25m portfolio costs roughly £131,250 as 4 dwellings but only around £52,000 as 8 — purely because crossing the 6-dwelling line unlocks the non-residential election.
A common mix-up worth clearing up: "6 or more dwellings" isn't one universal portfolio rule — it only applies to two specific reliefs. England's non-residential election and Scotland's full ADS waiver both genuinely require 6+. But the base Multiple Dwellings Relief in Wales and Scotland (the average-price calculation itself) applies from 2 dwellings upward — you don't need 6 to benefit from it, just fewer of the extra perks. This calculator reflects that: it offers portfolio mode from 2 dwellings, and only swaps in the 6+ benefits once you reach that count.
For any of the above, or for a purchase that doesn't fit a standard residential transaction, speak to a solicitor or conveyancer before relying on a number from any online calculator, including this one.
Take a £300,000 purchase by a first-time buyer:
Same price, same buyer profile, three different bills — purely because of where the property sits.
Northern Ireland uses identical Stamp Duty Land Tax rates, bands and reliefs to England, so the "England / NI" result above applies equally to a Northern Ireland purchase.
Wales's £225,000 nil-rate band is the highest of the three nations, but because there's no first-time buyer discount on top of it, a first-time buyer in Wales can end up paying more than a first-time buyer in England or Scotland on the same price — the headline threshold doesn't tell the whole story.
No — this tool covers standard residential purchases by individuals only. Shared ownership, multiple dwellings relief, and corporate purchases follow different rules in each nation and aren't included here. Speak to a solicitor or tax adviser for those situations.
Each nation can change its rates at any Budget. We check and update the figures on this page against the official government sources whenever a Budget announcement affects residential property tax.
Because 6 dwellings is the threshold for electing into non-residential SDLT rates, which top out at 5% instead of 12%. Below 6 dwellings, none of the bulk reliefs apply at all since Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished in 2024 — so 5 dwellings can cost substantially more tax than 6 of a similar total value.
Not necessarily — it depends which relief you mean. England's non-residential rate election and Scotland's full Additional Dwelling Supplement waiver both genuinely require 6 or more dwellings in one transaction. But the underlying Multiple Dwellings Relief in Wales and Scotland — the average-price calculation that usually reduces the bill — applies from just 2 dwellings. The 6+ threshold only unlocks specific extra reliefs on top, it isn't a minimum for getting any benefit at all.
It's your total tax divided by the property price, shown as a percentage. Because the tax is banded, this will always be lower than the highest rate band your purchase reaches — it's the true average rate across the whole price, not just the top slice.
Select "Standard". The additional property surcharge only applies if, after completing the purchase, you'd own more than one residential property. If you sell your existing main home on or before completion, the standard rate applies.
Select "Additional property". First-time buyer relief generally requires the property to become your own main residence. Check the specific eligibility rules for your nation before relying on this distinction for a real purchase.
Need the full detail for your nation? England guide & calculator → · Wales guide & calculator → · Scotland guide & calculator →