Stamp Duty on a £500,000 House

What you'll pay in 2026 — for each buyer type, with the full band-by-band maths

SDC By the Stamp Duty Calculator editorial team · Calculated against HMRC published SDLT rates from 1 April 2025 · 16 May 2026

On a £500,000 home purchase in England or Northern Ireland in 2026, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) ranges from £10,000 (first-time buyer) through £15,000 (standard home mover) to £40,000 (additional property / buy-to-let). The exact figure depends on who you are and what you're buying.

£500,000 is the magic number for first-time buyers. It's the cap above which the relief disappears — paying £500,000 saves £5,050 vs paying £500,001, a cliff edge worth knowing about during negotiations.

The headline numbers at £500,000

Buyer type	SDLT	Effective rate
First-time buyer	£10,000	2.00%
Standard home mover	£15,000	3.00%
Additional property (2nd home / BTL)	£40,000	8.00%

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

First-time buyer at £500,000

£500,000 is the highest price at which a first-time buyer can claim any relief. At £500,001 the relief is lost entirely.

Band-by-band: 0% on the first £300,000 = £0 · 5% on the remaining £200,000 = £10,000. Total: £10,000.

Standard home mover at £500,000

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 £250,000 = £12,500. Total: £15,000.

Additional property at £500,000

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 £250,000 = £25,000. Total: £40,000.

That is £40,000 — 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.

Who typically buys at £500,000?

FTBs stretching at the very top of their relief, families moving up in the South East, investors buying mid-market BTL.

Beyond SDLT: the total cost to complete

SDLT is the biggest single cost but not the only one. At £500,000, 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 £500,000 — 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:

Sources

Rates last verified against HMRC: 16 May 2026.