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    By Rhys Hedges · Published 12 November 2026

    First Time Buyer Stamp Duty: What You Pay in 2026

    First-time buyer reviewing completion costs with conveyancer

    In England and Northern Ireland, first-time buyers pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000 of a home and 5% on the slice between £300,001 and £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief disappears completely and standard rates apply to the whole price. That means a £400,000 first home costs you £5,000 in stamp duty, and a £300,000 one costs nothing.

    The rules are set out by GOV.UK, and the rates have not moved since 1 April 2025. Scotland and Wales run their own taxes with their own bands, covered below.

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    Key points

    • First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay 0% up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000.
    • Over £500,000 you lose the relief altogether. A £500,001 purchase is taxed at standard rates, not at the first-time buyer rates.
    • Everyone you buy with must be a first-time buyer, and you must intend to live in the home as your main residence.
    • Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) have separate rates, so the England figures do not apply there.
    • Stamp duty is normally due within 14 days of completion, and your conveyancer usually files the return.

    Table of Contents

    How much stamp duty do first-time buyers pay?

    Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged in slices, much like income tax. The House of Commons Library explains that each portion of the price is taxed at its own rate, rather than the whole price at one rate. For a first-time buyer in England or Northern Ireland, the slices are:

    Portion of the price Rate for first-time buyers
    Up to £300,000 0%
    £300,001 to £500,000 5%
    Over £500,000 No relief: standard rates on the whole price

    GOV.UK gives its own worked example: on a £500,000 purchase, a first-time buyer pays nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% on the remaining £200,000, so £10,000 in total. The same page confirms that if the price is above £500,000, you cannot claim the relief.

    The government’s Budget 2026 rates annex, published on 5 November 2026, still lists the first-time buyer relief at 0% on £0 to £300,000 and 5% on £300,001 to £500,000.

    What would the bill be on £300,000, £400,000 and £500,000?

    The sums are straightforward once you apply each rate to its slice. These figures use the GOV.UK rates above, and they exclude any surcharge for owning another home or for non-UK residents.

    Purchase price First-time buyer SDLT Standard SDLT (no relief) Relief saves you
    £250,000 £0 £2,500 £2,500
    £300,000 £0 £5,000 £5,000
    £400,000 £5,000 £10,000 £5,000
    £500,000 £10,000 £15,000 £5,000

    Here is the £400,000 calculation in full:

    1. 0% on the first £300,000 = £0
    2. 5% on the next £100,000 = £5,000
    3. Total SDLT = £5,000

    The standard-rate column uses the ordinary residential bands: 0% to £125,000, 2% from £125,001 to £250,000 and 5% from £250,001 to £925,000. On £400,000 that is £2,500 on the second slice plus £7,500 on the third, so £10,000. The saving from first-time buyer relief is therefore £5,000 on any price from £300,000 to £500,000.

    If you want to test your own price, the stamp duty calculator on our site works it out for England and Northern Ireland.

    What happens if the price is just over £500,000?

    This is the part many buyers miss. England does not taper the relief. It stops completely at £500,000, so the price of £500,001 is taxed at standard rates from the first pound above £125,000.

    On the standard bands, a £500,000 home costs £15,000 in SDLT, and a £500,001 home costs about the same, but the first-time buyer rate would have given you £10,000. The difference of roughly £5,000 arrives with a single extra pound.

    Stamp duty bills around the £500,000 threshold

    That has a practical effect on negotiation. If a home is listed at £510,000 and you are a first-time buyer, an offer at or under £500,000 does more than reduce the price by £10,000. It also removes about £5,000 of tax. Check the sums before you make an offer, and keep in mind that the relief applies to the price paid, so any part of the deal that is treated as payment for the property counts toward the threshold.

    Who counts as a first-time buyer?

    The definition is stricter than most people expect. HMRC’s guidance says you must never have acquired a major interest in a dwelling, or an equivalent interest in land, anywhere in the world. The value does not matter, and that includes property you inherited or were given.

    In practice:

    • Having had a mortgage before does not matter. What matters is whether you have owned a home or a share of one.
    • Property abroad counts. A flat you own overseas means you are not a first-time buyer.
    • Inherited or gifted shares count. Owning even a small share of a house disqualifies you.
    • Short leases are different. Commentary based on the HMRC rules notes that a lease with less than 21 years to run does not count as previous ownership, but being the beneficiary of a bare trust that acquired a dwelling can disqualify you.

    To claim the relief, GOV.UK says you and anyone you are buying with must be first-time buyers, you must intend to live in the property as your main residence, and the price must be no more than £500,000. The return uses relief code 32.

    Can I claim relief if I am buying with someone who has owned before?

    No. Joint purchasers must all meet the first-time buyer conditions. If you buy with a partner, friend or parent who has owned a home before, the whole purchase loses the relief and is taxed at standard rates. Before you commit to a joint purchase, work out the tax both ways. A £400,000 purchase would cost £10,000 instead of £5,000.

    Married couples and civil partners have a specific rule. When only one spouse or civil partner is buying, HMRC’s guidance says the other spouse’s previous ownership is not considered for eligibility. There is a catch: if the other spouse still owns a home that is not being replaced, the purchase is treated as a higher rates transaction, and first-time buyer relief cannot apply.

    Do shared ownership buyers get the relief?

    Yes, in many cases. GOV.UK says first-time buyers of shared ownership homes can claim relief when they intend to live there as their main residence and the property’s market value is £500,000 or less. The same guidance says the relief also applies to rent payments, so it is worth discussing the choices with your conveyancer before you complete.

    What about Scotland and Wales?

    SDLT applies only in England and Northern Ireland. The House of Commons Library confirms that Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT). Its comparison table shows the nil-rate band reaching £145,000 in Scotland and £225,000 in Wales for standard purchases.

    If you are buying north of the border or in Wales, use your own nation’s rates rather than the England table above. Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority publish the current bands and the reliefs on offer, and your solicitor or conveyancer will confirm which apply to you.

    Does a second property or a non-UK residency change the bill?

    It can. GOV.UK says you usually pay 5% on top of the standard rates if you own another residential property when you buy. As a result, the first-time buyer test is rarely an issue for those buyers, since by definition they have owned before. The Budget 2026 annex also confirms that rates rise by 2 percentage points where the non-UK resident surcharge applies.

    Are stamp duty rules changing in 2026?

    Not for first-time buyers. The rates introduced on 1 April 2025, with the £300,000 and £500,000 thresholds, still stand in the government’s Budget 2026 rates and allowances, published on 5 November 2026. Rates can change at any Budget, so check GOV.UK before you exchange contracts if you are buying some months from now.

    The standard residential slices at the moment are 0% up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5m and 12% above that. Many online articles still quote older thresholds, such as £425,000 for the nil-rate band, which applied under the earlier temporary rules and no longer apply.

    When do you pay stamp duty and who files the return?

    For most transactions, SDLT is due within 14 days of the effective date, which is normally completion. If you claim relief and it is later withdrawn, a further return and any tax due must reach HMRC within 30 days.

    In practice, your conveyancer files the return and collects the money from you with the other completion funds, so you need the cash available on completion day. Budget for it alongside your deposit, legal fees and surveys. The point of working out your bill early is that it is a cost you cannot add to your mortgage without lender agreement, and it affects how much you can afford to offer.

    Does council tax work differently on a new-build?

    Yes, because a new-build has no band until the valuation office assesses it. GOV.UK says a newly built property needs a Council Tax band. In England the band reflects what the property would have sold for on 1 April 1991, with Band A up to £40,000 and Band H over £320,000. In Wales the valuation date is 1 April 2003.

    Does council tax work differently on a new-build?

    For a new home, the date it becomes liable is set by a completion notice issued by the council. If you disagree with it, you have 28 days from the date of service to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service.

    Before you offer on a new-build, look up the band of comparable homes nearby and ask the developer or the council for the new property’s band. Our guide to council tax bands explains how to check them.

    Our view: the tax is only one number

    We think first-time buyers focus on stamp duty because it is a single, visible figure, yet the bigger decision is the price you agree. A £5,000 tax saving does not help if you pay £15,000 over what comparable homes on the same road have actually sold for.

    Our approach is built on comparable evidence: recent local sales, including properties on the same road, set against the asking price, alongside area data on crime and flood risk, schools, council tax and running costs. It is a data-led guide to what to offer, not a RICS valuation, a survey or financial advice.

    The sensible order is to check the evidence first, then set your offer, then work out the stamp duty on that price. If your offer sits near £500,000, remember that the tax changes sharply at that point.

    Rhys Hedges

    Can Offer Smart help you decide what to offer?

    Once you know your tax bill, the next question is the price. Offer Smart’s full buyer report costs £19.99 as a one-off. You enter a UK address or paste a Rightmove or Onthemarket link, and it compares recent local sales, including those on the same road, with the asking price. It also covers crime risk, flood risk, nearby schools, council tax and estimated running costs, plus a mortgage calculator.

    It is a guide to what to offer rather than an exact or guaranteed valuation. If you expect to look at several homes, the Unlimited Homebuyer Membership is £39.99 per month. You can see what a report contains in the example buyer report, or get the full buyer report for a specific address.

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    How do you use the tax rules when negotiating?

    Three practical points follow from the rules above.

    1. Know your price ceilings. £300,000 is where stamp duty starts for a first-time buyer, and £500,000 is where the relief is lost. If a home is priced a little above one of these, it is worth testing an offer below it, supported by sold prices. Our guide on how much to offer on a house covers the evidence to use.
    2. Count the whole cost. Add stamp duty, conveyancing, survey and moving costs to your deposit. Check how much you can borrow in our guide to mortgage affordability.
    3. Decide on joint purchases early. If a co-buyer has owned before, the relief is lost for everyone, so consider the tax when you decide who goes on the purchase.

    If you are comparing how far below asking to go, the guide on offering below asking price sets out the approach.

    FAQ

    How much is stamp duty for a first-time buyer on £400,000?

    In England and Northern Ireland it is £5,000. You pay nothing on the first £300,000 and 5% on the remaining £100,000. Without first-time buyer relief, the same purchase would cost £10,000.

    Do I pay stamp duty if I am a first-time buyer buying a £300,000 home?

    No. In England and Northern Ireland, first-time buyers pay no SDLT on a property costing £300,000 or less, according to GOV.UK’s buying a home guidance. Other taxes and fees, such as legal costs, still apply.

    Can I avoid stamp duty legitimately?

    The lawful route is to claim the reliefs you qualify for. For a first-time buyer, that means First-Time Buyers’ Relief on a home up to £500,000 that you will live in as your main residence. You cannot avoid the tax by splitting up a purchase or leaving out a co-buyer’s history, so speak to your conveyancer about your situation.

    What if I buy a home above £500,000 as a first-time buyer?

    You cannot claim the relief, and standard SDLT rates apply to the whole price. A £600,000 purchase, for example, is taxed on the standard bands in full. If you are close to the line, check whether an offer at or below £500,000 is realistic.

    Is there stamp duty on a first-time buyer purchase in Scotland or Wales?

    Scotland charges LBTT and Wales charges LTT instead of SDLT, and both have different bands from England. Check the current figures with Revenue Scotland or the Welsh Revenue Authority, or ask your solicitor, before you set your budget.

    Sources

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