Worked examples & case studies
Stamp duty is charged band by band, so the headline rate is never the rate you pay on the whole price. These worked examples show how it stacks up — tap Load this example to try each one.
First-time buyer, £450,000 flat
Sam is buying their first home in London for £450,000. First-time buyer relief means nothing is due on the first £300,000.
Home mover, £750,000 house
The Patels are moving to a £750,000 home. Standard rates apply across four bands.
Second home, £400,000
Dana buys a £400,000 buy-to-let. The 5% additional-property surcharge applies on top of every band.
Ireland, €500,000 home
Niamh buys a €500,000 house. Irish stamp duty on residential property is 1% up to €1m, so the maths is simple.
How UK stamp duty (SDLT) works
SDLT in England and Northern Ireland is a slice tax: each portion of the price is taxed at its own rate, like income tax bands. Buying a £300,000 home as a mover doesn't tax the whole £300,000 at 5% — only the slice above £250,000 is. The 2025/26 standard residential bands are 0% to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5m and 12% above.
First-time buyer relief
If everyone buying is a first-time buyer and the price is £500,000 or less, you pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% on the slice from £300,001 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief is lost entirely and standard rates apply to the whole price.
The second-home surcharge
If you'll own more than one residential property at the end of the day — a second home or a buy-to-let — a 5% surcharge is added to every band. That turns the 0% starter band into 5% and pushes the top band to 17%.
Scotland and Wales are different
Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT), each with its own bands and reliefs. The UK option here covers England and Northern Ireland.
Property transfer tax across Europe
Outside the UK and Ireland, most European countries levy a flat-ish "transfer tax" on the purchase price, often set regionally:
- Germany — Grunderwerbsteuer: 3.5%–6.5% depending on the federal state (Land).
- France — droits de mutation: roughly 5.8% of the price for existing homes.
- Spain — ITP: typically 6%–10% on resale homes, set by each autonomous community.
- Netherlands: 2% for an owner-occupied home; 10.4% for other property and investors.
The calculator uses a representative rate for each — switch country to see it, and check the local rate for your exact region.