SDLT: At a glance, Stamp Duty Land Tax, rates & allowances

: Last Updated: 08 July 2021

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.

SDLT rates

Residential Property rates

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 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 1 October 2021

Band: market price £	Basic SDLT rate	Higher SDLT rate	Non-Resident Basic SDLT rate	Non-Resident Higher SDLT rate
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 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 a discount on the purchase of their first property provided that the consideration is £500,000 or less.

Proportion of consideration	Rate
0-300,000	0%
300,001-500,000	5%

If the purchase price is over £500,000 normal SDLT rates apply.

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 unless an exemption applies.

Cost

SDLT

rate

From 20/3/2014 over £500,000

15%

From 2/2012 to 19/3/2014 over £2m

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 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:

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%

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.
- See SDLT: Subscriber guide
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.
A higher additional 3% rate of SDLT applies on the purchase of second home or if a dwelling acquired by a Non-Natural Person.
- See SDLT & dwellings: Higher rates.
First-time buyers receive a 3% discount on the purchase of a home costing £500,000 or less.
- See: SDLT first-time buyers relief.
Companies: higher value residential property (subject to the ATED charge)
- Where a company, or other non-natural person, acquires residential property costing more than £500,000, a 15% SDLT rate is charged.
- The 3% higher rate surcharge will not apply where the 15% 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 with a Freeport tax site can be exempt from SDLT.

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 since 1 April 2015.
Welsh Land Transaction Tax (LTT) applies since 1 April 2018 for properties in Wales.

Coronavirus: temporary extension to the nil rate threshold

Between July 8 2020 to 31 March 2021 a temporary extension to the nil rate threshold (to £500,000) applies to residential property 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. This was updated on 3 June 2021 to include delays caused by government imposed restrictions or public authority action which prevented 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:

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 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.

See: SDLT: Amending returns

Special SDLT rules

If two or more dwellings are acquired Multiple Dwelling 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.

Small Print and Links

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.