Second home and buy-to-let buyers in England pay standard SDLT rates plus a 5% surcharge on the entire purchase price from £0. On a £275,000 second home the total stamp duty is £17,500 — compared to £3,750 for a standard home mover. The surcharge applies whenever you own any other residential property at completion, with a limited exception for those replacing their main residence. Use the calculator below for the exact figure on any purchase price.
The stamp duty surcharge on additional residential properties was introduced at 3% in April 2016 and raised to 5% from 31 October 2024, and it has significantly changed the economics of buy-to-let and second home investment in England. Combined with Section 24 tax changes that restrict mortgage interest relief, it represents one of the two largest structural cost increases for landlords in the past decade. Understanding exactly what you will pay — and when exemptions might apply — is essential before making any offer on an additional property.
This page covers England and Northern Ireland only. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) with an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) (effective 5 December 2024), and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT) with higher residential rate bands starting at 5% (effective 11 December 2024). The rules and thresholds differ significantly — consult the Scottish or Welsh government revenue authorities for those calculations.
Stamp Duty Second Home Calculator — England 2025
Second home stamp duty rates — England 2025
The table below shows how SDLT is calculated on additional residential properties. The surcharge is applied to every band — including the portion that would be nil-rate for a standard buyer. This means second home buyers pay 5% even on the first £125,000 of the purchase price.
| Purchase price band | Standard rate (home movers) | Second home / BTL rate | Surcharge added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 5% | +5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 7% | +5% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% | 10% | +5% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% | 15% | +5% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% | 17% | +5% |
Rates for England and Northern Ireland, correct as at 2025. SDLT thresholds are reviewed periodically by HM Treasury — always verify current thresholds with HMRC or a solicitor before completing a transaction.
How the second home stamp duty is calculated
SDLT is calculated on a marginal (slice) basis — each band applies only to the portion of the purchase price that falls within that band. The second home calculation simply adds 5 percentage points to each band's standard rate.
Worked example: £275,000 buy-to-let purchase
- First slice: £0 to £125,000 — at 5% (second home rate) = £6,250
- Second slice: £125,001 to £250,000 — £125,000 at 7% = £8,750
- Third slice: £250,001 to £275,000 — £25,000 at 10% = £2,500
- Total SDLT = £17,500
- Compare: a home mover buying at £275,000 pays 0% on £125,000 + 2% on £125,000 + 5% on £25,000 = £3,750
- Surcharge cost at this price: £13,750
The difference between the two buyer types at £275,000 is £13,750 — a significant upfront cost that directly affects yield and return on capital calculations. At larger purchase prices, the absolute surcharge cost grows considerably. A £400,000 buy-to-let incurs a surcharge of £20,000. A £600,000 second home attracts £30,000 in additional SDLT versus a home mover purchasing at the same price.
Stamp duty comparison — second home vs home mover vs first-time buyer
| Purchase price | First-time buyer | Home mover | Second home / BTL | Surcharge cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £150,000 | £0 | £500 | £8,000 | +£7,500 |
| £200,000 | £0 | £1,500 | £11,500 | +£10,000 |
| £250,000 | £0 | £2,500 | £15,000 | +£12,500 |
| £300,000 | £0 | £5,000 | £20,000 | +£15,000 |
| £350,000 | £2,500 | £7,500 | £25,000 | +£17,500 |
| £400,000 | £5,000 | £10,000 | £30,000 | +£20,000 |
| £500,000 | £10,000 | £15,000 | £40,000 | +£25,000 |
| £600,000 | £20,000* | £20,000 | £50,000 | +£30,000 |
| £750,000 | £27,500* | £27,500 | £65,000 | +£37,500 |
*Above £500,000, first-time buyer relief no longer applies — the buyer pays the same standard rates as a home mover on the full price. All figures for England and Northern Ireland, rates in force from 1 April 2025.
Real worked examples — what you actually pay
Derek already owns his home and is purchasing a two-bed terrace in Leeds for £185,000 as a buy-to-let investment. As an additional property purchase he pays the 5% surcharge from £0.
| £0 to £125,000 at 5% (surcharge on nil-rate band) | £6,250 |
| £125,001 to £185,000 (£60,000) at 7% | £4,200 |
| Total SDLT | £10,450 |
A standard home mover purchasing the same property would pay £1,200 in stamp duty (2% on the £60,000 above the £125,000 nil-rate threshold). Derek's BTL surcharge costs him £9,250 more upfront — a sum he needs to factor into his yield calculation and return on capital.
Sarah and James already own their family home in Bristol. They are purchasing a holiday cottage in Cornwall for £420,000. This is an additional residential property so the 5% surcharge applies.
| £0 to £125,000 at 5% | £6,250 |
| £125,001 to £250,000 (£125,000) at 7% | £8,750 |
| £250,001 to £420,000 (£170,000) at 10% | £17,000 |
| Total SDLT | £32,000 |
A home mover buying at £420,000 would pay £0 on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500) plus 5% on £170,000 (£8,500) = £11,000. The holiday home surcharge costs Sarah and James an additional £21,000 compared to a home mover buying the same property.
Emma is buying a new home for £380,000 before her current home is sold. At completion she owns two properties so the 5% surcharge applies and she pays a total SDLT of £28,000 rather than the £9,000 she would pay as a standard home mover.
She sells her previous home six months later. Because the sale happens within three years of completing the purchase, she can claim a full refund of the 5% surcharge from HMRC. She must submit the refund claim within 12 months of the date of the sale of her previous home.
| SDLT paid at completion (second home rate) | £28,000 |
| Standard home mover SDLT equivalent | £9,000 |
| Surcharge paid upfront | £19,000 |
| Refund claimed after previous home sale | −£19,000 |
When the second home surcharge applies — and when it does not
The surcharge applies whenever you own any other residential property anywhere in the world at the end of the day you complete on the new purchase. It does not matter whether the other property is mortgaged, tenanted, inherited, or overseas — if you own it at completion, the surcharge applies.
Even owning a small share — for example, an inherited 10% of a parent's property — can trigger the surcharge. The only clean exemption is if you are replacing your main residence and sell the previous main residence on the same day as completing the new purchase, or within three years afterwards and claim the refund.
The surcharge applies when you:
- Buy a second home, holiday home, or any additional residential property
- Buy a buy-to-let property while owning any other residential property
- Complete on a new main residence before selling your previous one (refund available if sold within three years)
- Own any share in any other residential property at the day of completion
- Purchase a property jointly where either buyer owns another residential property
The surcharge does not apply when you:
- Are a genuine first-time buyer with no other residential property ownership history
- Sell your previous main residence on the same day as completing the new purchase
- Purchase a property where the consideration is less than £40,000
- Purchase certain mobile homes, houseboats, or caravans
- Are a company buying residential property (different rules — 15% flat rate may apply instead)
Claiming a refund of the 5% surcharge
If you paid the second home surcharge because you completed on a new purchase before selling your previous main residence, you can claim a full refund from HMRC once the previous property is sold, provided:
- The property you sold was your main residence (not a buy-to-let or second home)
- The sale of the previous main residence happens within three years of completing the new purchase
- You submit the refund claim to HMRC within 12 months of the date of the sale, or within 12 months of the SDLT filing date for the new purchase, whichever is later
The refund is the full 5% surcharge amount — not the standard SDLT payable by a home mover. So if you paid £28,000 in total SDLT on a £380,000 purchase (when a standard mover would have paid £9,000), you would receive £19,000 back as a refund after selling your previous home. HMRC typically processes these refunds within 15 working days of receiving the claim.
Claims are submitted via HMRC's online service or by writing to HMRC's Stamp Duty Land Tax office. Your solicitor should be able to help you with the paperwork — some firms include this service in their conveyancing fee, others charge a small additional amount.
How the stamp duty surcharge affects your BTL yield
The SDLT surcharge is an upfront capital cost that directly reduces your return on capital deployed. Including it in your acquisition cost gives a more honest picture of how long a BTL investment takes to break even and what the true yield is.
Impact on a £220,000 BTL purchase yielding 6.5% gross
- Annual gross rent: £14,300 (6.5% of £220,000)
- SDLT paid (second home rate): £12,900
- Deposit (25%): £55,000
- Legal fees + survey: £2,200
- Total acquisition cost: £55,000 + £12,900 + £2,200 = £70,100
- Gross yield on total capital deployed: £14,300 ÷ £70,100 = 20.4% gross on capital — a more meaningful figure than the property yield alone
- With standard home mover SDLT (£1,900) instead: total acquisition = £59,100, yield on capital = 24.2%
The surcharge effectively reduces the return on capital deployed by around 3–4 percentage points at typical BTL investment levels — a meaningful difference in a yield-compressed market. Use our rental yield calculator to model the full picture including acquisition costs.
Second home stamp duty in Scotland and Wales
The rules differ materially from England. If you are purchasing an additional property in Scotland or Wales, you need to use the relevant country's tax authority rather than HMRC's SDLT rules.
- Scotland — Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT): an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) applies to additional residential purchases, charged on the full purchase price from £0 (effective 5 December 2024).
- Wales — Land Transaction Tax (LTT): higher residential rate bands apply to additional properties (starting at 5% from 11 December 2024). The bands differ from the standard LTT bands — use the Welsh Revenue Authority calculator for accurate figures.
If you are purchasing property in Scotland or Wales, use the Revenue Scotland or Welsh Revenue Authority online calculators for accurate figures. Do not use the English SDLT rates for cross-border comparisons without accounting for these differences.
Frequently asked questions
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How much stamp duty do I pay on a second home in the UK?In England, second home buyers pay standard SDLT rates plus a 5% surcharge on the entire purchase price. On a £275,000 second home you pay £17,500 total — compared to £3,750 for a standard home mover. Use the calculator above for the exact figure on any purchase price. Scotland charges an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) on the full purchase price (effective 5 December 2024). Wales applies higher residential rate bands starting at 5% (effective 11 December 2024).
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Does the 5% surcharge apply to buy-to-let properties?Yes. The 5% additional SDLT surcharge applies to all purchases of additional residential properties in England and Northern Ireland, including buy-to-let investments, holiday homes, and second residences. It applies from the first pound of the purchase price and is charged on top of the standard SDLT bands. There is no BTL-specific exemption — the surcharge is the same whether you intend to let the property or use it personally.
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Can I get a refund of the second home stamp duty surcharge?Yes, in specific circumstances. If you pay the surcharge because you completed on a new property before selling your previous main residence, you can claim a full refund of the 5% surcharge from HMRC provided you sell the previous main residence within three years of completion and submit the claim within 12 months of that sale. The refund does not apply if the property sold was a buy-to-let or investment property — only a main residence qualifies.
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Is stamp duty different in Scotland and Wales for second homes?Yes, significantly. Scotland's Land and Buildings Transaction Tax includes an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) on additional properties (effective 5 December 2024), charged on the full purchase price. Wales's Land Transaction Tax applies higher residential rate bands starting at 5% (effective 11 December 2024). This page covers England and Northern Ireland only — use Revenue Scotland or the Welsh Revenue Authority for calculations in those countries.
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Do I pay the 5% surcharge if I only own one other property?Yes. The 5% surcharge applies whenever you own any other residential property at the end of the day of completion, regardless of its value, location, or mortgage status. Owning even a small share in any residential property — including an inherited share — can trigger the surcharge. The only exception is if the property you are buying is replacing your main residence and you sell your previous main residence within three years.
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