On a £400,000 home purchase in England or Northern Ireland in 2026, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) ranges from £5,000 (first-time buyer) through £10,000 (standard home mover) to £30,000 (additional property / buy-to-let). The exact figure depends on who you are and what you're buying.

A £400,000 purchase is squarely in the typical first-time buyer or upsizing mover bracket, particularly in London commuter towns and the South East.

The headline numbers at £400,000

Buyer type	SDLT	Effective rate
First-time buyer	£5,000	1.25%
Standard home mover	£10,000	2.50%
Additional property (2nd home / BTL)	£30,000	7.50%

Non-UK residents add 2% to every band in any of the categories above.

First-time buyer at £400,000

First-time buyers pay £5,000 at this price. FTB relief covers the first £300,000 with 5% on the £300,001-£500,000 slice.

Band-by-band: 0% on the first £300,000 = £0 · 5% on the remaining £100,000 = £5,000. Total: £5,000.

Standard home mover at £400,000

For a home mover replacing their only or main residence:

Band-by-band: 0% on the first £125,000 = £0 · 2% on the next £125,000 = £2,500 · 5% on the remaining £150,000 = £7,500. Total: £10,000.

Additional property at £400,000

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 = £6,250 · 7% on the next £125,000 = £8,750 · 10% on the remaining £150,000 = £15,000. Total: £30,000.

That is £30,000 — note how much larger the additional-property SDLT is than the standard figure. The 5% surcharge applies to every band of the purchase from £40,000 upwards.

Deposit, mortgage and cash needed at £400,000

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 £400,000, 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%	£40,000	£360,000	£2,001	£50,000	£45,000
25%	£100,000	£300,000	£1,667	£110,000	£105,000
40%	£160,000	£240,000	£1,334	£170,000	£165,000

*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 £86 a month. Model your own rate and term with the mortgage repayment calculator, and check what you can borrow with the affordability calculator.

Worth knowing at this price: At £400k, first-time buyer relief saves £5,000 vs a standard buyer (£5,000 against £10,000). BTL SDLT is £30,000, meaning the additional-property surcharge alone (£20,000) exceeds the pre-surcharge SDLT. This is the price band where BTL yields need to work hardest — factor 5% surcharge into your yield calculation, not the headline standard SDLT.

£400,000 in other situations

The headline table covers UK-resident buyers in England and Northern Ireland. These are the figures at exactly £400,000 for non-UK residents and for the same price in Scotland and Wales, which have their own taxes.

Situation at £400,000	Tax
Non-UK resident home mover (England/NI, +2%)	£18,000
Non-UK resident first-time buyer (England/NI, +2%)	£13,000
Non-UK resident, additional property (England/NI, +5% and +2%)	£38,000
Scotland, main home (LBTT)	£13,350
Scotland, first-time buyer (LBTT relief)	£12,750
Scotland, additional property (LBTT + 8% ADS on the whole price)	£45,350
Wales, main home (LTT main rates)	£10,500
Wales, additional property (LTT higher rates)	£29,950

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: buying your next home before the old one sells

A home mover buying at £400,000 normally pays £10,000. If the purchase completes while their current home is still unsold, they own two homes at the end of the day, so the higher rates apply and £30,000 is due within 14 days. The difference, £20,000, is refundable if the previous main home is sold within three years and the claim is made within HMRC's time limit. Use the surcharge refund calculator to check the deadline.

At the same price a first-time buyer pays £5,000 (5% on the £100,000 above £300,000), so relief is worth £5,000 here.

Beyond SDLT: the total cost to complete

SDLT is the biggest single cost but not the only one. At £400,000, you should also budget for:

• Solicitor / conveyancer: £1,500–£2,000 fixed fee.
• Local authority and environmental searches: around £350.
• Survey (Level 2 HomeBuyer): £700–£900.
• Mortgage product/arrangement fee: £500–£1,500.
• Removals: £1,500–£2,200 for a typical move.
• Land Registry registration: £150–£295 depending on price.

Use the moving costs calculator for an itemised total.

How to negotiate around the bands

Because SDLT is banded, small price differences near a threshold matter — particularly the £500,000 first-time buyer cliff edge where the relief is lost entirely. Other notable thresholds at this price:

• £250,000: standard rate moves from 2% to 5%.
• £500,000: first-time buyer relief disappears (cliff edge).
• £925,000: standard rate moves from 5% to 10%.

Calculate your exact figure

The numbers above are exact for £400,000 — but if you want to model a different price, run a comparison, or get the total cost to complete including all fees, use the calculators:

• Main SDLT calculator
• First-time buyer calculator
• Buy-to-let calculator
• Moving costs calculator
• Affordability calculator

Rates last verified against HMRC: 26 October 2026.