Stamp Duty CalculatorStamp Duty on a £250,000 House
What you'll pay in 2026 — for each buyer type, with the full band-by-band maths.
On a £250,000 home purchase in England or Northern Ireland in 2026, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) ranges from £0 (first-time buyer) through £2,500 (standard home mover) to £15,000 (additional property / buy-to-let). The exact figure depends on who you are and what you're buying.
The headline numbers at £250,000
| Buyer type | SDLT | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| First-time buyer | £0 | 0.00% |
| Standard home mover | £2,500 | 1.00% |
| Additional property (2nd home / BTL) | £15,000 | 6.00% |
Non-UK residents add 2% to every band in any of the categories above.
First-time buyer at £250,000
First-time buyers pay nothing on a £250,000 home. The FTB nil-rate band runs up to £300,000.
Band-by-band: 0% on the first £250,000 (band £0–£250,000) = £0. Total: £0.
Standard home mover at £250,000
For a home mover replacing their only or main residence:
Band-by-band: 0% on the first £125,000 (band £0–£125,000) = £0 · 2% on the next £125,000 (band £125,000–£250,000) = £2,500. Total: £2,500.
Additional property at £250,000
For a buy-to-let, second home, or any purchase where the buyer will own another residential property at the end of the day of completion:
Band-by-band: 5% on the first £125,000 (band £0–£125,000) = £6,250 · 7% on the next £125,000 (band £125,000–£250,000) = £8,750. Total: £15,000.
That's £12,500 more than the standard rate. The 5% additional-property surcharge stacks on every band above the £40,000 entry threshold.
Deposit, mortgage and cash needed at £250,000
Stamp duty is paid on top of your deposit, so the cash you need on completion day is the deposit plus SDLT (plus the fees listed further down). The table shows three common deposit levels at £250,000, with the repayment on the rest of the price.
| Deposit % | Deposit amount | Mortgage | Monthly repayment* | Deposit + SDLT (home mover) | Deposit + SDLT (first-time buyer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | £25,000 | £225,000 | £1,251 | £27,500 | £25,000 |
| 25% | £62,500 | £187,500 | £1,042 | £65,000 | £62,500 |
| 40% | £100,000 | £150,000 | £834 | £102,500 | £100,000 |
*Capital-and-interest repayment over 25 years at an illustrative 4.5% interest rate. This is an assumption to show scale, not a quote or a forecast. At 5.0% the 25%-deposit repayment rises by about £54 a month. Model your own rate and term with the mortgage repayment calculator, and check what you can borrow with the affordability calculator.
Threshold context at this price
- £250,000 is the top of the 2% band for home movers: every pound above it is taxed at 5%.
- First-time buyers pay nothing until £300,000, so the next threshold that matters to them is £300,000.
£250,000 in other situations
The headline table covers UK-resident buyers in England and Northern Ireland. These are the figures at exactly £250,000 for non-UK residents and for the same price in Scotland and Wales, which have their own taxes.
| Situation at £250,000 | Tax |
|---|---|
| Non-UK resident home mover (England/NI, +2%) | £7,500 |
| Non-UK resident first-time buyer (England/NI, +2%) | £5,000 |
| Non-UK resident, additional property (England/NI, +5% and +2%) | £20,000 |
| Scotland, main home (LBTT) | £2,100 |
| Scotland, first-time buyer (LBTT relief) | £1,500 |
| Scotland, additional property (LBTT + 8% ADS on the whole price) | £22,100 |
| Wales, main home (LTT main rates) | £1,500 |
| Wales, additional property (LTT higher rates) | £14,950 |
England and NI: SDLT rates from 1 April 2025. Scotland: LBTT bands from 1 April 2021 and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement for contracts from 5 December 2024 (Revenue Scotland). Wales: LTT main rates from 10 October 2022 and higher rates from 11 December 2024 (Welsh Government). Rates checked 26 October 2026. Model other prices with the non-UK resident, LBTT and LTT calculators.
Worked example: £10,000 either side of £250,000
£250,000 is the top of the 2% band, so the next pound is taxed at 5% for a home mover. A mover who agrees £260,000 pays £3,000; negotiating back to £250,000 brings that to £2,500, a £500 saving on top of the £10,000 off the price. For an additional property the same £10,000 is taxed at 10% (£16,000 against £15,000).
A first-time buyer pays £0 at £250,000 and keeps paying £0 up to £300,000, so this threshold does not affect them. A mover who completes at £250,000 before selling their current home pays the additional-property figure of £15,000 on completion day. If the old main home is sold within three years, £12,500 of that can usually be reclaimed from HMRC, but it has to be funded in cash until then.
Beyond SDLT: the total cost to complete
SDLT is the biggest single tax but not the only cost. At £250,000, budget for:
- Conveyancing legal fees: £1,400–£1,800.
- Local-authority searches: ~£320.
- Survey (RICS Level 2 HomeBuyer): £700–£900.
- Mortgage product/arrangement fee: £0–£2,000 (often ~£999).
- Mortgage valuation: ~£300 (sometimes waived).
- Removals: £1,500–£2,200.
- Land Registry registration: £150.
- Buildings insurance from exchange: ~£280/year.
Use the home buying cost calculator for an itemised total at this price.
Calculate variations
To model a different price, buyer type or scenario:
- Main SDLT calculator — any price, any buyer type
- First-time buyer calculator — FTB-specific with relief logic
- Buy-to-let calculator — includes the 5% surcharge
- Second home calculator — additional-property treatment
- Non-UK resident calculator — additional 2% surcharge
- Home buying cost calculator — SDLT plus all other fees
Nearby price bands
Popular calculators
Related reading
Sources
Rates last verified against HMRC: 26 October 2026.