Buying Costs
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Wales buying costs calculator

Taxes and fees on top of the price in Wales, from the rules in force on 3 November 2026. The calculator starts on one case: a 350,000 resale second home, buyer not tax-resident there who already owns a home. Change any input to see yours.

In the local currency
Own another home
Purchase date 3 Nov 2026, replacing your home
Rules in force on this day

For Wales, no rule depends on the property being new, what the home is for, tax residence, age, first-time buyer or official value, so they are not asked.

On top of the price, Wales

£26,450

Estimate range £25,850 to £27,050

Taxes£24,950
Fees, typical£1,500
All in£376,450
Tax set by lawTypical feeCould be up toNot confirmed yet, reason on the line

Taxes

£24,950

  • LTT higher residential rates

    £24,950

    Charged instead of the main rates, on the whole price, from £40,000, when at the end of the completion day you own another home (or a share of one) worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world; a spouse or civil partner's home counts too. Not charged if the new home replaces your main home and you sold the old one in the 3 years before. If the old one is still unsold at completion, you pay the higher rates and can claim the difference back if you sell it within 3 years.

    Rate set by lawSource: Welsh Revenue Authority: higher rates for purchases of residential property, technical guidance (LTTA/8020 to 8270), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

Fees, typical

£1,500

Read this before you budget

  • Wales has no first-time buyer relief: first-time buyers pay the main rates, and nothing is due on the first £225,000.
  • Buyers who are not UK resident pay the same rates as residents; Wales has no non-resident surcharge.
  • Multiple dwellings, linked transactions, companies (which always pay the higher rates), leases and mixed-use property are not modeled.
  • Contracts exchanged before 11 December 2024 keep the old higher rates (one point lower in each band) even when the purchase completed later; not modeled.

Sources and checks

Rules in force on 3 Nov 2026: United Kingdom from 9 Dec 2024 and Wales from 11 Dec 2024. Next review due 1 Apr 2027.

Lines marked as estimates are typical market figures, not quotes. The total uses the typical figure; the range adds up the low and the high ends.

Quick facts (2026)

Taxes in the rules
2: Land Transaction Tax; LTT higher residential rates. Each applies only in the situations its rule names.
Tax-resident buyer, £350,000 resale main home
£9,000 on top of the price (2.6%), of which taxes £7,500
The calculator's starting case
£26,450 on top (7.6%) for a 350,000 resale second home, buyer not tax-resident there who already owns a home
Fees
Typically £1,500, between £900 and £2,100. Estimates, not quotes.
Rules in force
Since 11 December 2024. Next review due 1 Apr 2027.
Sources
11 cited, last checked 3 Nov 2026.

Which taxes and fees apply, and when

The rules in force on 3 November 2026 for Wales, as the engine reads them. A line applies only when every condition under it holds.

Taxes

Land Transaction Tax

Tax

Applies when

  • except when the buyer already owns a home, the buyer is not replacing a main home already sold by completion and the price is £40,000 or more

Charged in bands on the price: each slice is taxed at its own rate.

Bands
Slice of the valueRate on that slice
up to £225,0000%
£225,000 to £400,0006%
£400,000 to £750,0007.5%
£750,000 to £1,500,00010%
over £1,500,00012%

Source: gov.wales: Land Transaction Tax rates and bands (updated 10 December 2024), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

LTT higher residential rates

Tax

Applies when

  • the buyer already owns a home
  • the buyer is not replacing a main home already sold by completion
  • the price is £40,000 or more

Charged in bands on the price: each slice is taxed at its own rate.

Bands
Slice of the valueRate on that slice
up to £180,0005%
£180,000 to £250,0008.5%
£250,000 to £400,00010%
£400,000 to £750,00012.5%
£750,000 to £1,500,00015%
over £1,500,00017%

Charged instead of the main rates, on the whole price, from £40,000, when at the end of the completion day you own another home (or a share of one) worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world; a spouse or civil partner's home counts too. Not charged if the new home replaces your main home and you sold the old one in the 3 years before. If the old one is still unsold at completion, you pay the higher rates and can claim the difference back if you sell it within 3 years.

Source: Welsh Revenue Authority: higher rates for purchases of residential property, technical guidance (LTTA/8020 to 8270), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

Fees

Conveyancing solicitor (market rate)

Fee, estimate

Applies to every purchase

An estimate: typically £1,000, from £500 to £1,500.

The legal fee. Searches and the Land Registry fee are separate lines. Firms must publish their prices, including VAT and likely disbursements (SRA Transparency Rules).

Source: Which?: Conveyancing, what it is and what it costs (29 May 2026), checked 2 Nov 2026, secondary source

From the rules for United Kingdom.

Local searches

Fee, estimate

Applies to every purchase

An estimate: typically £350, from £250 to £450.

A standard pack: local authority, drainage and water, environmental. Each council sets its own local search fee, and some charge much more.

Source: HouseCheckup: conveyancing searches compared (standard pack, 2026), checked 2 Nov 2026, secondary source

From the rules for United Kingdom.

HM Land Registry fee (Scale 1)

Fee

Applies to every purchase

A fixed amount set by the band the price falls in.

Bands
ValueAmount
up to £80,000£20
£80,000 to £100,000£40
£100,000 to £200,000£100
£200,000 to £500,000£150
£500,000 to £1,000,000£295
over £1,000,000£500

The fee for an online application to register a whole title, the usual resale case. A new-build plot taken off a developer's larger title, or a postal application, pays the higher column (£45 to £1,105).

Source: HM Land Registry: registration services fees, Scale 1 (updated 28 April 2025), checked 2 Nov 2026, official source

From the rules for United Kingdom.

Buying costs by price

The calculator's starting case at seven prices: a resale second home, buyer not tax-resident there who already owns a home.

Wales: second home, buyer not tax-resident, owns another home
PriceTaxesFees, typicalTotal on topEstimate rangeShare of price
£150,000£7,500£1,450£8,950£8,350 to £9,5505.97%
£250,000£14,950£1,500£16,450£15,850 to £17,0506.58%
£350,000£24,950£1,500£26,450£25,850 to £27,0507.56%
£500,000£42,450£1,500£43,950£43,350 to £44,5508.79%
£750,000£73,700£1,645£75,345£74,745 to £75,94510.05%
£1,000,000£111,200£1,645£112,845£112,245 to £113,44511.28%
£1,500,000£186,200£1,850£188,050£187,450 to £188,65012.54%
Worked out by the Buying Costs engine with the rules in force on 3 Nov 2026. Sources: Welsh Revenue Authority: higher rates for purchases of residential property, technical guidance (LTTA/8020 to 8270) (checked 3 Nov 2026); Which?: Conveyancing, what it is and what it costs (29 May 2026) (checked 2 Nov 2026); HouseCheckup: conveyancing searches compared (standard pack, 2026) (checked 2 Nov 2026); HM Land Registry: registration services fees, Scale 1 (updated 28 April 2025) (checked 2 Nov 2026); The Land Registration Fee Order 2024 (SI 2024/931) (checked 2 Nov 2026); gov.wales: Land Transaction Tax rates and bands (updated 10 December 2024) (checked 3 Nov 2026); The Land Transaction Tax (Tax Bands and Tax Rates) (Wales) Regulations 2018 (WSI 2018/128), Schedule, Tables 1 and 2 (checked 3 Nov 2026); gov.wales: Claim a refund of Land Transaction Tax higher rates (checked 3 Nov 2026); Welsh Revenue Authority: calculation of LTT payable, technical guidance (LTTA/3020) (checked 3 Nov 2026); gov.wales: Land Transaction Tax rates and bands changes (higher rates from 11 December 2024) (checked 3 Nov 2026); gov.wales: Written statement, Draft Budget 2026-27, Welsh taxes (14 October 2025; residential rates unchanged) (checked 3 Nov 2026).

How situations change it

Each row changes one thing from a tax-resident buyer of a £350,000 resale main home (£9,000 on top). Only the situations Wales's rules look at are listed.

Wales, £350,000, rules in force on 3 November 2026
SituationTaxesTotal on topAgainst the baselineLink
Baseline: tax-resident, resale main home£7,500£9,000Open in the calculator
Already owns another home£24,950£26,450£17,450 moreOpen in the calculator
Replacing the main home, old one sold by completion£7,500£9,000No changeOpen in the calculator

Compare Wales

The same buyer and price side by side in the compare tool, and the written comparisons.

In the compare tool

Comparison guides

  • Where buying costs are lowestFor a tax-resident buyer of a main home, Madeira and the Azores have the lowest buying taxes of the euro places on cheaper and mid-priced homes, then mainland Portugal; on expensive homes Madrid comes first. Catalonia has the highest. For a non-resident, Madrid comes first, because Spain has no non-resident surcharge and Portugal charges a flat 7.5% IMT. For a new build, Portugal is cheapest. England, in pounds, takes a small share of the price for a resident home mover, but a large one for a buyer who already owns a home.
  • Spain vs EnglandFor a resident buying their main home, England's stamp duty is a smaller share of the price than Spain's transfer tax, because England's bands start at 0% while Spanish regions charge 6% to 10% or more from the first euro. A buyer who already owns a home anywhere pays 5% extra in England from the first pound, so a second home in England can cost more than one in Madrid or Andalusia. New builds cost more in Spain, where they pay 10% VAT.
  • Portugal vs EnglandA UK resident who already owns a home and buys a second one pays England's standard bands plus 5% of the price. The same buyer in Portugal is a non-resident there, so they pay a flat 7.5% IMT plus 0.8% stamp duty. On cheaper homes England usually takes the smaller share of the price; as the price rises England's share climbs past Portugal's flat rate. A buyer who moves to Portugal within two years can reclaim most of the IMT.
  • Wales vs EnglandFor a buyer who owns no other home, Wales's Land Transaction Tax is lower than England's stamp duty below £350,000, the same at £350,000 and higher above it. First-time buyers pay less in England, which has a relief Wales lacks; buyers living abroad pay less in Wales, which has no non-resident surcharge; second-home buyers pay about the same at £300,000.
  • Scotland vs EnglandFor a buyer who owns no other home, Scotland's LBTT is a little lower than England's stamp duty on homes up to £325,000 and higher on dearer homes. First-time buyers pay less in England. Second-home buyers pay more in Scotland, where the Additional Dwelling Supplement is 8% against England's 5%. Buyers living outside the UK pay less in Scotland, which has no non-resident surcharge.
  • Northern Ireland vs EnglandThe tax is the same: Northern Ireland charges England's Stamp Duty Land Tax, with the same bands, first-time buyer relief and surcharges, so a buyer who owns no other home pays £5,000 on a £300,000 home in either. Only the fees differ. Land Registry NI charges £535 on paper at that price against £150 at HM Land Registry, the solicitor's fee is estimated higher, and the buyer pays no searches, which the seller's solicitor orders. The typical fees come to £1,835 in Northern Ireland and £1,500 in England.

Wales buying costs: questions

How much does it cost to buy a £350,000 home in Wales?

For a tax-resident buyer of a resale main home, the taxes are £7,500 and typical fees £1,500: £9,000 on top of the price. For a 350,000 resale second home, buyer not tax-resident there who already owns a home, it is £26,450. Both use the rules in force on 3 November 2026.

Which taxes do you pay when buying a home in Wales?

The rules hold 2 purchase taxes: Land Transaction Tax; LTT higher residential rates. Which ones apply depends on the buyer and the property; the rate tables on this page say when each one does.

Do non-residents pay more to buy in Wales?

No rule for Wales depends on tax residence, so a non-resident pays the same taxes as a resident: £7,500 on a £350,000 resale main home.

Is Land Transaction Tax different in North Wales, South Wales or Cardiff?

No. Land Transaction Tax has one set of bands for the whole of Wales: a £350,000 resale main home costs £7,500 in LTT for a buyer who owns no other home, in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Gwynedd, Pembrokeshire or anywhere else in North or South Wales. The higher rates for a buyer who owns another home are the same everywhere too. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax instead, and Scotland charges LBTT.

Are the fees exact?

No. Notary, registry and lawyer fees are typical market figures, shown with a low and a high end. On the starting case the fees are £1,500, and could be £900 to £2,100. Taxes are worked out exactly from the rules.

Which date are the rules from?

The calculator uses the rules in force on the purchase date you enter. Today that is the version in force since 11 December 2024, due for review by 1 April 2027. Change the purchase date to see an earlier or later version.

Related guides and calculators

Guides

  • Land Transaction TaxLand Transaction Tax is the purchase tax in Wales. A buyer who owns no other home pays nothing on the first £225,000, then 6%, 7.5%, 10% and 12% on the slices above: £4,500 on a £300,000 home and £18,000 on a £500,000 home. A buyer who owns another home pays the higher rates instead.
  • LBTTLand and Buildings Transaction Tax is the purchase tax in Scotland. A buyer who owns no other home pays nothing on the first £145,000, then 2%, 5%, 10% and 12% on the slices above: £2,100 on a £250,000 home and £23,350 on a £500,000 home. First-time buyers get a higher nil band, and a buyer who will own another home adds the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement.
  • Stamp dutyNorthern Ireland charges Stamp Duty Land Tax with the same bands as England: nothing up to £125,000, then 2%, 5%, 10% and 12% on the slices above, so £7,500 on a £350,000 home. First-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000. A buyer who will own another home pays 5% of the price more, and a buyer who is not UK resident 2% more.
  • Additional Dwelling SupplementThe Additional Dwelling Supplement is 8% of the whole price, paid on top of LBTT, by a buyer who will own another home worth £40,000 or more: £24,000 on a £300,000 home. It is not charged when the new home replaces a main home sold in the 36 months before, and it can be claimed back if the old main home sells within 36 months after.
  • Second homesA buyer who will own another home worth £40,000 or more pays Land Transaction Tax at the higher rates, from 5% to 17% on the whole price: £19,950 on a £300,000 home, against £4,500 at the main rates. A buyer replacing a main home pays the main rates if the old one was sold in the 3 years before, or can claim the difference back if it sells within 3 years after.
  • First-time buyersFirst-time buyers in Scotland pay no Land and Buildings Transaction Tax on the first £175,000, instead of £145,000, at any price. The relief saves up to £600: a first-time buyer pays £1,500 on a £250,000 home, against £2,100 for other buyers who own no home. England is cheaper for first-time buyers, even above £500,000 where its relief stops.
  • First-time buyersNo. Wales has no first-time buyer relief: first-time buyers pay Land Transaction Tax at the same main rates as anyone who owns no other home. Nothing is due up to £225,000, so many first homes pay none; above that a first-time buyer pays £1,500 on a £250,000 home and £4,500 on a £300,000 home.
  • Does buying give residency?No. Buying a home does not by itself give a right to live in Portugal, Spain or the UK, or a path to citizenship. Portugal stopped accepting golden visa applications based on buying property from 7 October 2023 (Lei 56/2023), Spain abolished its investor visa, property route included, from 3 April 2025 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025), and the UK has no visa based on buying a home. Owning a home does not make the buyer tax resident either.
  • Stamp duty (SDLT)Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged in slices: nothing on the first £125,000, 2% up to £250,000, 5% up to £925,000, 10% up to £1.5 million and 12% above. A buyer who owns no other home pays £5,000 on a £300,000 home. These bands have applied since 1 April 2025 and the October 2026 Budget left them unchanged.
  • EnglandA buyer in England pays Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in bands from 0% to 12%, plus conveyancing, searches and a Land Registry fee. A buyer who owns no other home pays £5,000 of SDLT on a £300,000 home; first-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000; buyers who already own a home pay 5% of the price more, and non-residents 2% more.
  • WalesA buyer in Wales pays Land Transaction Tax (LTT) in bands from 0% to 12%, plus conveyancing, searches and a Land Registry fee. A buyer who owns no other home pays £4,500 of LTT on a £300,000 home. There is no first-time buyer relief, and a buyer who already owns a home pays the higher rates instead: £19,950 on the same home.
  • Northern IrelandA buyer in Northern Ireland pays the same Stamp Duty Land Tax as in England, plus a solicitor and a Land Registry NI fee. A buyer who owns no other home pays £7,500 of SDLT on a £350,000 home; first-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000; a buyer who already owns a home pays 5% of the price more, and a non-resident 2% more.
  • ScotlandA buyer in Scotland pays Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in bands from 0% to 12%, plus a solicitor and a Registers of Scotland fee; the seller pays for the Home Report and the searches. A buyer who owns no other home pays £2,100 of LBTT on a £250,000 home, a first-time buyer £1,500, and a buyer who already owns a home adds 8% of the price in Additional Dwelling Supplement.
  • First-time buyersA first-time buyer in England pays no Stamp Duty Land Tax on the first £300,000 and 5% on the part from £300,001 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief is lost and the normal rates apply to the whole price. Every buyer must never have owned a home anywhere in the world, and must be buying it to live in.
  • Moving to EnglandSomeone who buys in England before becoming UK resident pays the 2% non-resident surcharge, and can claim it back within 2 years if they then spend 183 days in the UK within the time allowed. A buyer who still owns a home abroad also pays the 5% higher rates, unless that home was their main home and is sold within 3 years. Buyers who have never owned a home anywhere can get first-time buyer relief.
  • Second homes and buy to letA buyer who will own more than one home at the end of the completion day pays the higher rates: 5% on top of every SDLT band, so 5% of the whole price extra. On a £300,000 second home that is £20,000 in stamp duty instead of £5,000. Homes owned abroad count. A buyer replacing their main home can avoid it, or claim it back if the old home sells within 3 years.
  • Second home stamp duty refundYes, when the new home replaced the buyer's main home. A buyer who still owned their previous main home at completion pays the 5% higher rates, then gets them back by selling or giving away that home within 3 years and claiming from HMRC within 12 months of the sale, or of the new home's return filing date if later. On a £400,000 home the refund is £20,000. A holiday home or buy to let bought while keeping the main home gets no refund.
  • Buying as an AmericanBeing American does not change the purchase tax in Portugal, Spain or England: each taxes by residence, not nationality. A US citizen who does not live in the country pays Portugal's flat 7.5% IMT for non-residents or England's 2% stamp duty surcharge, both refundable after a move in time. Spain charges every buyer the same taxes, but a non-resident owner from outside the EU pays 24% each year on an imputed income from the home.
  • Buying after BrexitBrexit did not change the purchase taxes a British buyer pays in Spain or Portugal, because both charge by residence, not nationality. What changed is that people living in the UK are now outside the EU: since 1 January 2021 Spain taxes a UK-resident owner at 24% instead of 19% on the yearly imputed income from a holiday home, and Portugal requires a fiscal representative unless the owner signs up for electronic notifications. Portugal's flat 7.5% IMT for non-residents, from 25 May 2026, applies to every non-resident, not only to the British.
  • Costs by priceFor a buyer who owns no other home, stamp duty in England is £1,500 on a £200,000 home, £5,000 at £300,000, £15,000 at £500,000 and £43,750 at £1 million. First-time buyers pay less up to £500,000, buyers who already own a home pay 5% of the price more, and non-residents 2% more.
  • Conveyancing and feesBesides stamp duty, a buyer in England pays a conveyancer, the searches the conveyancer orders, and HM Land Registry's fee to register the new owner. Purchase quotes averaged about £1,500 including VAT and disbursements in mid 2026, according to reallymoving's index. The Land Registry fee is fixed by the price: £150 for a home from £200,001 to £500,000 registered online.
  • Non-resident surchargeA buyer who is not UK resident pays a 2% surcharge on the whole price on top of the normal Stamp Duty Land Tax. On a £350,000 home that is £7,000 more. A buyer who already owns a home also pays the 5% higher rates, so 7% on top of the standard bands.

Other United Kingdom calculators

Other countries

Rule versions

Each rule file keeps its versions with the day they start and end. The calculator uses the version in force on your purchase date, so a past or upcoming change shows up when you change the date.

The starting case (£350,000, as in the calculator above) on the first day of each version
Purchase dateRules usedTaxesTotal on top
1 Jan 2024United Kingdom from 1 Jan 2024, Wales from 1 Jan 2024£21,450£22,950
9 Dec 2024United Kingdom from 9 Dec 2024, Wales from 1 Jan 2024£21,450£22,950
11 Dec 2024United Kingdom from 9 Dec 2024, Wales from 11 Dec 2024£24,950£26,450
3 Nov 2026 (today)United Kingdom from 9 Dec 2024, Wales from 11 Dec 2024£24,950£26,450

  1. Wales

    11 Dec 2024 to no end date

    In force

    Starts from the version of 1 Jan 2024 and lists only what changed:

    • Changed: LTT higher residential rates (bands)

    Wales has no first-time buyer relief: first-time buyers pay the main rates, and nothing is due on the first £225,000.

    Buyers who are not UK resident pay the same rates as residents; Wales has no non-resident surcharge.

    Multiple dwellings, linked transactions, companies (which always pay the higher rates), leases and mixed-use property are not modeled.

    Contracts exchanged before 11 December 2024 keep the old higher rates (one point lower in each band) even when the purchase completed later; not modeled.

    Next review due 1 Apr 2027.

    Source: gov.wales: Land Transaction Tax rates and bands (updated 10 December 2024), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: The Land Transaction Tax (Tax Bands and Tax Rates) (Wales) Regulations 2018 (WSI 2018/128), Schedule, Tables 1 and 2, checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: Welsh Revenue Authority: higher rates for purchases of residential property, technical guidance (LTTA/8020 to 8270), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: gov.wales: Claim a refund of Land Transaction Tax higher rates, checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: Welsh Revenue Authority: calculation of LTT payable, technical guidance (LTTA/3020), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: gov.wales: Land Transaction Tax rates and bands changes (higher rates from 11 December 2024), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: gov.wales: Written statement, Draft Budget 2026-27, Welsh taxes (14 October 2025; residential rates unchanged), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

  2. United Kingdom

    9 Dec 2024 to no end date

    In force

    Starts from the version of 1 Jan 2024 and lists only what changed:

    • Added: HM Land Registry fee (Scale 1)
    • Removed: HM Land Registry fee

    Source: The Land Registration Fee Order 2024 (SI 2024/931), checked 2 Nov 2026, official source

  3. United Kingdom

    1 Jan 2024 to 8 Dec 2024

    Past

    Sets out 3 lines: Conveyancing solicitor (market rate); Local searches; HM Land Registry fee.

  4. Wales

    1 Jan 2024 to 10 Dec 2024

    Past

    Adds to or changes the rules for United Kingdom:

    • Added: Land Transaction Tax
    • Added: LTT higher residential rates

    Wales has no first-time buyer relief: first-time buyers pay the main rates, and nothing is due on the first £225,000.

    Buyers who are not UK resident pay the same rates as residents; Wales has no non-resident surcharge.

    Multiple dwellings, linked transactions, companies (which always pay the higher rates), leases and mixed-use property are not modeled.

    Source: gov.wales: Land Transaction Tax rates and bands (updated 10 December 2024), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: The Land Transaction Tax (Tax Bands and Tax Rates) (Wales) Regulations 2018 (WSI 2018/128), Schedule, Tables 1 and 2, checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: Welsh Revenue Authority: higher rates for purchases of residential property, technical guidance (LTTA/8020 to 8270), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: gov.wales: Claim a refund of Land Transaction Tax higher rates, checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

    Source: Welsh Revenue Authority: calculation of LTT payable, technical guidance (LTTA/3020), checked 3 Nov 2026, official source

Not confirmed yet

Nothing in the rules for Wales is flagged as not confirmed.

Sources

Every page these rules cite, with the day it was last checked.