Stamp Duty CalculatorHome Buying Budget Planner
One set of inputs. One honest answer: what buying this home will actually cost you upfront and every month, plus an affordability check against household income. Combines statutory SDLT (HMRC rates from 1 April 2025) with estimated legal, survey, moving and ongoing costs. For the quicker upfront-only view, use the Home Buying Cost Calculator.
Your figures
Advanced — override cost estimates
Upfront cash required
| Item | Type | Amount |
|---|
Monthly ongoing cost
| Item | Type | £ / month |
|---|
Next steps with these numbers
- Check the monthly payment still works if rates rise: put the loan amount into the mortgage stress test calculator.
- Work out when each sum is due (the deposit usually at exchange, stamp duty within 14 days of completion) with the house purchase timeline calculator.
- See the yearly cost once you own the home, including utilities and any service charge or ground rent, in the annual home ownership cost calculator.
How this planner works
Every figure above is one of two kinds. Statutory means the number comes from a government rate table and is exact at the moment of calculation. Estimate means the number comes from a 2026 UK market range and is realistic but not quotable — your own quotes will land inside or near the range depending on provider and property.
| Item | Source |
|---|---|
| Stamp Duty Land Tax | Statutory — HMRC rate tables effective 1 April 2025 (England & NI) |
| Land Registry fee | Statutory — HM Land Registry Scale 1 (online submission) |
| Mortgage repayment | Deterministic calculation — standard amortisation formula on your inputs |
| Conveyancing & legal | Estimate — Law Society price-band benchmarks, 2026 |
| Survey (Level 2 RICS) | Estimate — RICS surveyor fee survey, 2026 |
| Searches | Estimate — typical UK council and environmental search bundle |
| Removals | Estimate — British Association of Removers 2026 price norms |
| Mortgage product fee | Default £999 — the modal fee across the mainstream UK market in 2026 |
| Buildings insurance | Estimate — ABI 2026 average premium data |
| Council tax | Estimate — midpoint of UK band ranges; use the council tax calculator for your postcode |
| Maintenance reserve | Convention — 1% of property value per year, split evenly across months |
| Contingency | Convention — 1.5% of property price, standard planner buffer |
Why this planner, not nine separate calculators?
Buying a home is a cost stack. Every input you change ripples through four or five lines on your actual bank balance. If you treat SDLT, mortgage, legal and moving as separate problems you nearly always understate the total — buyers who miss by £6,000-£12,000 almost always miss by failing to compose the costs. This tool composes them once from one set of inputs.
Use the specialist calculators to tune one line (the mortgage repayment calculator for amortisation detail, the LTV calculator for band thresholds, the SDLT calculator for buyer-type comparisons, the moving costs calculator for removals breakdown) and come back to this planner for the composed picture.
Reading the result
Three numbers in the summary deserve attention:
- Total upfront. This is the cash leaving your account before move-in day. Treat it as a floor, not a ceiling — 1-2% over this is normal.
- LTV. If this lands just above a band cut-off (60%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%) and you can clear it, do. See the LTV calculator for the gap figure.
- Total monthly housing. Not just the mortgage payment. The mortgage is typically 50-65% of the real monthly cost of running the home. Budget against the total, not the mortgage line.
Common planner mistakes
- Treating the mortgage payment as the housing budget. See above — it is a majority but not the whole.
- Underestimating SDLT by assuming FTB relief when the price is above £500,000 (FTB relief withdraws fully at that point).
- Forgetting the surcharge if replacement of a main residence has not completed in time — the surcharge refund route is a cash-flow problem even if the money comes back.
- Zero contingency. 1.5% of price is the minimum, 2.5% is safer on older stock.
- Using a 2-year fix rate for a 25-year mortgage calculation. The planner uses your input rate across the whole term for comparability; your actual monthly payment will reset at every remortgage.
Frequently asked questions
What does this planner include?
Nine upfront categories (deposit, SDLT, conveyancing, searches, survey, Land Registry, mortgage product fee, removals, contingency) and four ongoing monthly items (mortgage, council tax, insurance, maintenance reserve).
How much cash do I need upfront?
On a £325,000 standard purchase with a 10% deposit, roughly £46,000 (about £41,000 for a first-time buyer): £32,500 deposit, £6,250 SDLT (£1,250 for a first-time buyer), £1,500 legal, £500 survey, £150 Land Registry, £500 removals, £5,000 contingency.
Does the planner separate tax from estimates?
Yes. SDLT uses the current HMRC rate table; everything else is clearly labelled Estimate and based on 2026 UK market norms.
What rate should I enter?
Use the typical rate for your LTV band from the LTV calculator. For a quick first pass, 4.85% is a reasonable 2026 default for 85-90% LTV residential.
Is the monthly figure a lending decision?
No. This is a budget planner, not an affordability assessment. Lenders apply their own stress tests and criteria. Use the affordability calculator and stress test for a lender-adjacent view.
Property buying journey
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Sources
Last reviewed: 1 October 2026.