UK Stamp Duty Timeline

SDLT replaced the older Stamp Duty in December 2003. Since then it's been adjusted, raised, lowered, and reformed more times than almost any other UK tax. Here's the full chronology — useful if you bought property historically and want to see what rate applied at the time, or if you just want to understand how the rules got to where they are.

1. 1 December 2003 SDLT replaces Stamp Duty. Stamp Duty Land Tax introduced under the Finance Act 2003, replacing the older stamp duty that had existed since 1694. Initial rates: 0% to £60,000, then 1%/3%/4% slab rates (the whole-price-rate model).
2. 23 March 2006 Nil-rate band rises to £125,000. Budget 2006 lifts the threshold for the 1% band, removing many cheaper purchases from SDLT entirely.
3. 3 September 2008 Holiday — nil-rate band raised to £175,000. Temporary measure during the financial crisis. Reverted to £125,000 on 1 January 2010.
4. 25 March 2010 First-time buyer relief introduced. Temporary FTB relief: 0% on purchases up to £250,000, expiring 24 March 2012.
5. 22 April 2012 7% top rate added. New 7% band introduced for residential purchases over £2 million.
6. 4 December 2014 Slab rates abolished — switch to banded ("slice") system. Major reform: SDLT becomes a banded tax (the system still in use today). New rates: 0% to £125k, 2% to £250k, 5% to £925k, 10% to £1.5m, 12% above £1.5m. End of the cliff-edge slab rates.
7. 1 April 2016 Additional-property surcharge introduced. 3% surcharge added to all bands for second homes and buy-to-let purchases. £40,000 threshold introduced.
8. 22 November 2017 First-time buyer relief reintroduced (permanent). FTB relief brought back: 0% to £300,000, 5% on portion to £500,000, no relief above £500,000.
9. 8 July 2020 COVID-19 holiday — nil-rate band raised to £500,000. Pandemic measure. Originally to 31 March 2021, later tapered.
10. 1 July 2021 COVID holiday taper — nil-rate band drops to £250,000. Step down on the way back to normal rates.
11. 1 October 2021 COVID holiday ends. Standard rates fully restored: 0% to £125k, 2% to £250k, 5% to £925k, 10% to £1.5m, 12% above. FTB relief: 0% to £300k.
12. 1 April 2021 Non-UK resident surcharge introduced. 2% surcharge added to all residential SDLT bands for non-UK resident buyers.
13. 23 September 2022 "Mini-budget" cuts — nil-rate to £250,000. Standard nil-rate band raised to £250,000. FTB threshold raised to £425,000 with relief cap to £625,000. Framed as permanent; subsequently rebadged as temporary.
14. 31 October 2024 Additional-property surcharge raised from 3% to 5%. Autumn Budget 2024. Single-rate SDLT for non-natural persons buying £500,000+ residential property raised from 15% to 17%.
15. 1 June 2024 Multiple Dwellings Relief abolished. MDR (which allowed averaging across multi-dwelling purchases) withdrawn for transactions completing on or after 1 June 2024.
16. 1 April 2025 Mini-budget thresholds reverted. Standard nil-rate band returns to £125,000. FTB threshold returns to £300,000 with relief cap to £500,000. The current rates.

Why so many changes?

SDLT is a high-revenue, politically visible tax. Every Chancellor treats it as a tool for shaping the housing market — encouraging first-time buyers, cooling investor demand, smoothing the market during recessions, raising revenue when the budget needs it. The result is a tax with twenty-plus distinct rate regimes since 2003, depending on the date you bought, who you are, and what you bought.

For any historical purchase the SDLT due is fixed at the rates in force on the effective date of the transaction (usually completion). If you're researching a transaction that completed before April 2025, use the rates from this timeline — not the current ones.

Timeline last updated: 1 May 2026.