Home mover breakdown — band by band
Stamp Duty Land Tax is a banded tax. Only the portion of the purchase price within each band is taxed at that band's rate — not the full price at a single rate. For a £350,000 home mover purchase:
| Band | Rate | Taxable amount | Tax on band |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 – £125,000 | 0% | £125,000 | £0 |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | £125,000 | £2,500 |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% | £100,000 | £5,000 |
| Total stamp duty (home mover) | £7,500 | ||
The effective rate is 2.14% of the total purchase price — lower than the 5% marginal rate because the first £125,000 is nil-rated and the next £125,000 is taxed at only 2%.
First-time buyer breakdown
First-time buyers benefit from an enhanced nil-rate threshold of £300,000 (for properties up to £500,000). On a £350,000 purchase:
| Band | FTB rate | Taxable amount | Tax on band |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 – £300,000 | 0% | £300,000 | £0 |
| £300,001 – £500,000 | 5% | £50,000 | £2,500 |
| Total stamp duty (first-time buyer) | £2,500 | ||
To qualify for first-time buyer relief: every buyer named on the purchase must be a first-time buyer who has never previously owned a residential property anywhere in the world. If one buyer has previously owned, full standard rates apply to the entire purchase.
Additional property breakdown
Buyers of a second home, buy-to-let property, or any additional residential property pay a surcharge of 5 percentage points on top of the standard rates. Crucially, this surcharge applies even to the normally nil-rated first band — so there is no nil-rate band for additional property purchases:
| Band | Rate (standard + 5%) | Taxable amount | Tax on band |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 – £125,000 | 5% | £125,000 | £6,250 |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 7% | £125,000 | £8,750 |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 10% | £100,000 | £10,000 |
| Total stamp duty (additional property) | £25,000 | ||
The effective rate for additional property at £350,000 is 7.14%. If you pay the higher rates but then sell your prior main home within three years, you can apply to HMRC for a refund of the surcharge element.
How £350,000 compares across buyer types and price points
The table below shows how stamp duty varies by buyer type and purchase price around the £350,000 level, using current SDLT bands for England (2026):
| Purchase price | Home mover | First-time buyer | Additional property |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £0 | £15,000 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £0 | £20,000 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £2,500 | £25,000 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £5,000 | £30,000 |
| £450,000 | £12,500 | £7,500 | £35,000 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 | £40,000 |
Notice that home mover SDLT rises by £2,500 for each additional £50,000 of purchase price within the 5% band. First-time buyer SDLT is nil up to £300,000 — from there, FTB SDLT also rises by £2,500 per £50,000 up to the £500,000 relief ceiling.
Is £350,000 near a useful stamp duty threshold?
The most significant SDLT threshold in this price range is the start of the 5% band at £250,001. On any property priced above £250,000, a home mover pays 5% on the excess. At £350,000, that excess is £100,000, producing £5,000 of the £7,500 total (the other £2,500 comes from the 2% band between £125,001 and £250,000).
There is no benefit to negotiating a £350,000 property down marginally — the nil-rate band for home movers ends at £125,000, which is realistically unachievable from a £350,000 starting price. For first-time buyers, the relevant threshold is £300,000: below this, FTBs pay nothing. Negotiating from £350,000 to £299,999 would save a first-time buyer £2,500. Whether the vendor would accept such a reduction is a separate negotiation, but it is worth considering on a £350,000 property.
The upper limit for first-time buyer relief is £500,000. A £350,000 purchase is comfortably within this, so full FTB relief applies.
FTB relief check: First-time buyer relief is lost entirely on properties above £500,000 — not just partially reduced. At £350,000 you are well within the relief window and pay only £2,500. The closer you are to £500,000, the more important it is to confirm both buyers qualify as first-time buyers before signing any contract.
Budgeting your total upfront costs at £350,000
Stamp duty is non-negotiable and cannot be added to the mortgage — it must be paid from your own funds at completion. When planning a £350,000 purchase, your total upfront cash requirement includes:
- Deposit — typically 5%–20% of the purchase price. A 10% deposit on £350,000 is £35,000; a 15% deposit is £52,500.
- Stamp duty — £7,500 (home mover) or £2,500 (first-time buyer)
- Solicitor and conveyancing fees — typically £1,500–£3,000 depending on complexity
- Survey costs — a homebuyer report costs £400–£800; a full structural survey costs £600–£1,500
- Mortgage arrangement fee — some products charge up to £1,000–£2,000 (though this can sometimes be added to the loan)
- Removal costs, initial furnishing and moving-in contingency — budget at least £2,000–£5,000
As an example: a first-time buyer purchasing at £350,000 with a 10% deposit needs approximately £35,000 + £2,500 SDLT + £2,000 legal and survey fees = around £39,500–£42,000 in total liquid savings, before moving costs and any initial repairs or decoration. Use the deposit savings calculator to plan how long it will take to reach your target.
Frequently asked questions
How much stamp duty on a £350,000 house in 2026?
Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty on a £350,000 property?
How much does an additional property buyer pay on £350,000?
When does stamp duty have to be paid?
Is there any way to reduce the stamp duty on a £350,000 purchase?
Is stamp duty the same across the entire £350,000, or just on part of it?
Does this apply in Scotland and Wales?
Impact of SDLT on buy-to-let returns at £350,000
For an additional property buyer, the £25,000 stamp duty bill has a direct and lasting effect on cash-on-cash return. Unlike the purchase price, which converts into equity, SDLT is a pure cost that is never recovered unless the surcharge refund applies. Here is a worked example:
Scenario: buy-to-let purchase at £350,000, 25% deposit, monthly rent £1,500 (£18,000/year). BTL mortgage £262,500 at 5.5% interest-only.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Deposit (25%) | £87,500 |
| SDLT — additional property | £25,000 |
| Legal, survey and acquisition costs | £2,500 |
| Total capital deployed | £115,000 |
| Annual gross rent | £18,000 |
| Annual mortgage interest (5.5% of £262,500) | −£14,438 |
| Net rent before management fees, maintenance and tax | £3,562 |
| Cash-on-cash return on capital deployed | 3.1% |
If the same buyer were purchasing as a home mover (SDLT £7,500 rather than £25,000), capital deployed falls to £97,500 and cash-on-cash rises to 3.7% — a meaningful difference in investor returns simply from the surcharge. This is why the additional property buyer's stamp duty is one of the first figures property investors model when appraising a deal. Use the rental yield calculator alongside this page to test different scenarios.
The wider implication: a higher-yielding property absorbs the surcharge better than a low-yielder at the same price. A property at £350,000 generating £1,750/month (6% gross yield) produces a materially better cash-on-cash return than one generating £1,250/month at the same purchase price and SDLT bill.
Claiming back the additional property surcharge
If you paid the 5 percentage point surcharge because you had not yet sold your previous main home — for example, you were in a chain, or you needed to secure the new property before the old one completed — you may be eligible to reclaim the surcharge from HMRC. The rules are:
- You must sell your previous main residence within three years of completing the new purchase.
- You must submit the refund claim within 12 months of selling the previous property, or within 12 months of the filing date of the original SDLT return, whichever is the later.
- The refund is the surcharge element only — 5 percentage points on the full purchase price. On a £350,000 purchase that is £17,500 (5% × £350,000).
- The claim is made to HMRC by amending the original SDLT return. Your solicitor or conveyancer can handle this; HMRC also accepts claims via their online service.
- The new property must have been purchased as a main residence — this relief is not available on buy-to-let purchases where there was never an intention to occupy the property.
- Missing either deadline forfeits the right to a refund. Set a reminder well before the three-year mark from your completion date.
This provision applies most commonly to buyers who have purchased a new home before their previous home completed its sale — a chain-break scenario, or a cash buyer who moved quickly. It does not apply to straightforward buy-to-let purchases by landlords who have never lived in the new property. If you are unsure whether you qualify, your solicitor can advise based on your specific situation.
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