What is Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)? What are the rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)?
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.
Residential Property rates
From 8 July 2020 to 31 March 2021
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate | Higher SDLT rate | First Time Buyer |
Up to 500,000 |
0% | 3% | 0% |
500,001 – 925,000 |
5% | 8% | 5% |
925,001 – 1,500,000 |
10% | 13% | 10% |
1,500,001 and over |
12% | 15% | 12% |
From 1 April 2016 to 7 July 2020
Band: market price £ |
Basic SDLT rate |
Higher SDLT rate |
Property costs £40,000 or less |
0% | 0% |
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
From 22 November 2017 to 7 July 2020
Proportion of consideration | Rate |
0-300,000 | 0% |
300,001-500,000 | 5% |
Non-UK residents from April 2021
Band: market price £ |
Non-resident SDLT rate |
Property costs £40,000 or less |
0% |
0 -125,000 |
5% |
125,001 – 250,000 |
7% |
250,001 – 925,000 |
10% |
925,001 – 1,500,000 |
15% |
1,500,001 and over |
17% |
Companies & Non-Natural Persons (NNPs)
The 3% surcharge higher rate (as above) applies on the purchase of residential property.
NNPs pay a 15% rate on certain higher value residential property
Cost |
SDLT rate |
From 20/3/2014 over £500,000 | 15% |
From 2/2012 to 19/3/2014 over £2m |
Non-Natural Persons include:
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 2020 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:
Non-residential rates are as follows:
Band: market price £ |
Non-residential |
0-150,000 |
0% |
150,001 - 250,000 |
2% |
Over 250,000 |
5% |
Companies: higher value residential property (subject to the ATED charge)
Since 1 April 2018 SDLT only applies to properties in England and Northern Ireland.
Coronavirus: temporary reduced rate
Between July 8 2020 to 31 March 2021 a temporary extension to the nil rate threshold (to £500,000) applies for both basic SDLT and higher rates due to the coronavirus. See SDLT: Summer economic update. It was announced at Budget 2021 that this would be extended to 30 June 2021 at the same rate, with a £250,000 limit to apply between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2021. This is included in draft Finance Bill 2021.
Coronavirus: on 3 June 2020 HMRC updated their guidance on exceptional circumstances that allow refunds following a sale outside of the normal three-year limit to specifically include the impact of COVID-19 preventing the sale. See HMRC higher rates of SDLT
The change to the guidance in England and Northern Ireland follows the Scottish Parliament temporarily extending its refund period for land and buildings transaction tax from 18 months to three years.
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:
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
Small Print and Links
SDLT: Stamp Duty Land Tax (subscriber's guide)
What are the SDLT rates? What is exempt from SDLT? What reliefs are available?
SDLT & residential property: Higher rates
A guide to the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) higher rate charge on residential property, when it applies and what reliefs are available to exempt buyers from the charge
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.