First-time buyer stamp duty calculator
First-time buyers in England pay no Stamp Duty Land Tax up to £300,000, under gov.uk's SDLT residential property rates. On a £350,000 home the estimated bill is £2,500, an effective rate of 0.7%, saving an estimated £5,000 against a home mover.
How does my first-time buyer stamp duty bill break down?
| Slice | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| £0 to £300,000 | 0.0% | £0 |
| £300,000 to £350,000 | 5.0% | £2,500 |
| Total | £2,500 |
How does first-time buyer stamp duty relief work?
The relief changes the stamp duty bands rather than handing you a fixed discount. In England a first-time buyer pays no SDLT on the first £300,000 and 5% on anything from £300,000 up to £500,000. So a £450,000 purchase is taxed only on the £150,000 above the nil band. The relief is worth more the closer the price sits to £500,000, then it vanishes: buy for £500,001 and you pay full standard SDLT on the entire price, not just the pound over the limit. First-time buyers assessing whether acquiring a property is financially preferable to continuing to rent can model the long-term difference using the rent vs buy calculator.
Scotland and Wales run their own systems. Scotland lifts the LBTT nil band from £145,000 to £175,000 for first-time buyers, a saving of up to £600. Wales gives no first-time buyer relief, so the Land Transaction Tax is the same whether or not you have owned before.
What would I pay in a worked example?
Take a £350,000 first home in England. The first £300,000 is free, and the remaining £50,000 is taxed at 5%, giving £2,500. An ordinary home mover buying the identical property would pay £7,500, so the relief is worth £5,000 here. Push the price above £500,000 and that saving drops to zero, because the relief no longer applies.
Common questions
How much stamp duty does a first-time buyer pay?
In England a first-time buyer pays nothing up to £300,000, then 5% on the slice from £300,000 to £500,000. On a £350,000 home the bill is about £2,500, which is £5,000 less than a home mover pays. Switch nation above for Scotland or Wales.
What counts as a first-time buyer?
You must never have owned a residential property anywhere in the world, on your own or jointly. If you are buying with someone else, both of you have to be first-time buyers for the relief to apply. Inheriting a share of a property in the past can also disqualify you.
What happens if the house costs more than £500,000?
In England the relief disappears completely above £500,000. You do not get the nil band on the first £300,000, you pay standard SDLT on the whole price as an ordinary buyer would. There is no tapering, it is a hard cliff at £500,000.
Is there first-time buyer relief in Scotland and Wales?
Scotland gives relief by lifting the LBTT nil band to £175,000, which saves a first-time buyer up to £600. Wales gives no first-time buyer relief at all, so a first-time buyer pays the same Land Transaction Tax as anyone else.
Do I claim the relief myself?
Your solicitor or conveyancer normally claims it on the stamp duty return at completion, so you should not need to do anything. It is still worth checking the return shows the first-time buyer relief before it is submitted, because correcting it later is harder.
How does my first-time buyer stamp duty bill break down?
The bill is worked out band by band, following the rates on gov.uk's SDLT residential property page. On a £350,000 purchase in England or Northern Ireland, each slice of the price is taxed at its own band rate, and the bands sum to an estimated total of £2,500.
How does first-time buyer stamp duty relief work?
Relief changes the tax bands applied to the purchase rather than giving a fixed discount, following the rules set out on gov.uk and, in Scotland, by Revenue Scotland. On this £350,000 example the relief brings an estimated saving of £5,000 against an ordinary home mover.
What would I pay in a worked example?
On a £350,000 first home in England or Northern Ireland, the estimated first-time buyer bill is £2,500, an effective rate of 0.7%. An ordinary home mover buying the same property would pay an estimated £7,500, so the relief is worth £5,000 on this purchase, before conveyancing and other moving costs.
Sources & Rate Verification
Rates verified against official statutory guidance on 6 September 2026.