Buying a home in England (2026): every cost on top of the price
A 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.
Key facts
- SDLT bands since 1 April 2025: 0% to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million, 12% above.
- First-time buyers: nothing up to £300,000 and 5% up to £500,000; no relief above £500,000.
- Buyers who will own another home anywhere in the world pay 5% of the price on top.
- Buyers who are not UK resident pay 2% on top, refundable if they become resident in time.
- The SDLT return and payment are due within 14 days of completion, usually handled by the conveyancer.
- Scotland and Wales have their own taxes; this site covers England.
What do you pay on top of the price in England?
Four costs come with almost every purchase in England. One is a tax; three are fees.
| Cost | What it is | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) | The purchase tax, paid by the buyer | Set by bands and by the buyer’s situation |
| Conveyancing | The solicitor or licensed conveyancer’s legal work | Market price |
| Searches | Council, water and environmental checks | Market price; councils set their own fees |
| HM Land Registry fee | Registering the buyer as owner | Fixed scale by price |
For a buyer who lives in the UK and will own no other home, a £300,000 home costs:
| Line | Kind | Amount | Estimate range | Share of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stamp Duty Land Tax | Tax | £5,000 | 1.67% | |
| Conveyancing solicitor (market rate) | Fee, estimate | £1,000 | £500 to £1,500 | 0.33% |
| Local searches | Fee, estimate | £350 | £250 to £450 | 0.12% |
| HM Land Registry fee (Scale 1) | Fee | £150 | 0.05% | |
| Taxes | £5,000 | 1.67% | ||
| Fees, typical | £1,500 | £900 to £2,100 | 0.50% | |
| Total on top of the price | £6,500 | £5,900 to £7,100 | 2.17% |
How much is stamp duty in England in 2026?
SDLT is worked out in slices. Each rate applies only to the part of the price inside its band. These bands have applied since 1 April 2025, and HM Treasury’s overview of rates published with the 28 October 2026 Budget lists them unchanged:
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Charged in bands on the price: each slice is taxed at its own rate, rounded down to the whole unit.
| Slice of the value | Rate on that slice |
|---|---|
| up to £125,000 | 0% |
| £125,000 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,000 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,000 to £1,500,000 | 10% |
| over £1,500,000 | 12% |
Applies when except when the buyer is a first-time buyer, the buyer owns no other home, it is for your main home and the price is £500,000 or less.
So a £300,000 home pays £5,000, and a £500,000 home £15,000. The stamp duty guide explains the slices, the April 2025 change and the effective date.
How does the buyer’s situation change the bill?
Three situations change SDLT, and two of them can stack:
| Situation | Effect | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| First-time buyer | Nothing up to £300,000, then 5%, on homes up to £500,000 | First-time buyers |
| Will own another home anywhere | 5% of the price on top, refunded if it replaces a main home sold within 3 years | Second homes and buy to let; stamp duty refund on a second home |
| Not UK resident | 2% of the price on top | Non-resident surcharge |
| Moving to England | The 2% can be refunded; the 5% depends on a home kept abroad | Moving to England |
On a £300,000 home:
| Buyer | SDLT |
|---|---|
| Owns no other home, UK resident | £5,000 |
| First-time buyer | £0 |
| Already owns a home | £20,000 |
| Not UK resident | £11,000 |
| Not UK resident, already owns a home | £26,000 |
New builds pay the same SDLT as older homes, and are sold without VAT. Nationality plays no part: only residence and what the buyer owns.
What does buying cost at different prices?
The share of the price that goes in tax and fees rises with the price, because more of it falls into the higher bands:
| Price | Taxes | Fees, typical | Total on top | Estimate range | Share of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £150,000 | £500 | £1,450 | £1,950 | £1,350 to £2,550 | 1.30% |
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £1,500 | £4,000 | £3,400 to £4,600 | 1.60% |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £1,500 | £6,500 | £5,900 to £7,100 | 2.17% |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £1,500 | £11,500 | £10,900 to £12,100 | 2.88% |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £1,500 | £16,500 | £15,900 to £17,100 | 3.30% |
| £750,000 | £27,500 | £1,645 | £29,145 | £28,545 to £29,745 | 3.89% |
| £1,000,000 | £43,750 | £1,645 | £45,395 | £44,795 to £45,995 | 4.54% |
| £1,500,000 | £93,750 | £1,850 | £95,600 | £95,000 to £96,200 | 6.37% |
Buying costs by price has the same prices for first-time buyers, second-home buyers and non-residents.
How much are conveyancing, searches and the Land Registry fee?
- Conveyancing. No official price. reallymoving’s index of over 82,000 quotes put the average purchase at £1,509 in April to June 2026, including VAT and disbursements (a secondary source). Firms must publish their prices under the SRA Transparency Rules.
- Searches. Ordered by the conveyancer before exchange. Councils set their own local search fees, so the cost varies by area.
- HM Land Registry fee. Fixed by the Land Registration Fee Order 2024, by price. For a whole title applied for online it runs from £20 on the cheapest homes to £500 above £1 million.
The conveyancing and fees guide has the full Land Registry scale and what the estimates include.
What is the buying process in England, step by step?
The order of a typical purchase in England, and when each cost is paid:
| Step | What happens | Money |
|---|---|---|
| Offer accepted | Buyer instructs a conveyancer | Some firms ask for money on account for searches |
| Searches and enquiries | Conveyancer checks the title, orders searches | Search fees |
| Exchange of contracts | The sale becomes binding | The deposit (part of the price) |
| Completion | The price is paid and the keys handed over | Balance of the price; conveyancer’s bill; SDLT usually paid the same day |
| Within 14 days of completion | Deadline for the SDLT return and payment | SDLT, if not already paid |
| After completion | Conveyancer registers the buyer at HM Land Registry | Land Registry fee |
The deadline is set by Finance Act 2003, section 76. GOV.UK says the conveyancer usually files the return and pays the tax for the buyer on the day of completion. A late return costs a £100 penalty, or £200 if more than three months late (Schedule 10, paragraph 3), and HMRC charges interest on late tax.
Does any of this apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
- Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, run by Revenue Scotland.
- Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, run by the Welsh Revenue Authority.
- Northern Ireland uses SDLT with the same rates and surcharges as England, but has its own land registry and fees.
This site calculates England only.
How does England compare with Portugal and Spain?
For a buyer who lives in the country and owns no other home, England’s tax is a smaller share of the price than in any Spanish region at most prices, because its bands start at zero. A buyer who already owns a home anywhere pays the extra 5% in England, which can make England dearer than Madrid or Andalusia. See Spain or England, second home in Portugal or England and where buying costs are lowest. Comparisons use the share of the price, never a currency conversion.
What this section does not cover
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (see above).
- Companies, trusts, shared ownership, new leases and mixed-use property.
- Surveys, mortgage fees, removals and the seller’s costs.
- Council tax and other costs of owning a home.
Taxes and fees
- Stamp Duty Land Tax in England (2026): the bands and how they work
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.
Buyer situations
- Stamp duty for first-time buyers in England (2026): who qualifies and what you pay
A 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.
- Stamp duty on a second home or buy to let in England (2026): the 5% higher rates
A 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.
- Stamp duty refund on a second home in England (2026): getting the 5% higher rates back
Yes, 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.
- Stamp duty for non-residents in England (2026): the 2% surcharge explained
A 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.
Costs by price
- Buying costs in England by price (2026): stamp duty and fees from £150,000 to £1.5 million
For 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.
Explainers
- Conveyancing and other fees when buying in England (2026): what each one costs
Besides 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.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to buy a house in England on top of the price?
The main cost is Stamp Duty Land Tax, which depends on the price and the buyer: £5,000 on a £300,000 home for a buyer who owns no other home, nothing for a first-time buyer. Then conveyancing, searches and a Land Registry fee; conveyancing quotes averaged about £1,500 including VAT and disbursements in mid 2026.
Who pays stamp duty in England, the buyer or the seller?
The buyer. The buyer's solicitor or conveyancer usually sends the return and pays the tax on completion, and adds it to their bill.
When is stamp duty paid?
Within 14 days after completion. Late returns cost a £100 penalty, or £200 after three months, plus interest on late tax.
Do foreigners pay more stamp duty in England?
Nationality does not matter, residence does. A buyer who spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before buying pays a 2% surcharge. A buyer who owns a home anywhere else also pays the 5% higher rates.
Is stamp duty the same in Scotland and Wales?
No. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales Land Transaction Tax, with their own rates. Northern Ireland uses SDLT with the same rates as England.
Can I buy a home in England through a company?
Yes, but a company pays SDLT under different rules, which this site does not calculate. GOV.UK says companies pay the 5% surcharge on residential property, and 17% on a residential property costing more than £500,000 unless a relief applies, for example for a property rental business.
Sources
- Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property ratesGOV.UK (HM Revenue and Customs)
- Budget 2026: overview of tax legislation and rates, Annex A (Stamp Duty Land Tax from 1 April 2025)HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs
- Stamp Duty Land Tax: overview (14 days, who files, Scotland and Wales)GOV.UK (HM Revenue and Customs)
- Finance Act 2003, Schedule 10, paragraph 3 (late return penalties)legislation.gov.uk
- Stamp Duty Land Tax: buying an additional residential propertyGOV.UK (HM Revenue and Customs)
- Stamp Duty Land Tax: corporate bodies (the 17% rate and reliefs)GOV.UK (HM Revenue and Customs)
- HM Land Registry: registration services feesHM Land Registry
- Land and Buildings Transaction TaxRevenue Scotland
- Land Transaction Tax: overviewWelsh Revenue Authority
Behind the figures
Every amount on this page is worked out by the engine from rule files that cite these pages.
- Which?: Conveyancing, what it is and what it costs (29 May 2026)Secondary source
- The Land Registration Fee Order 2024 (SI 2024/931)Official source
- GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax, residential property ratesOfficial source