Stamp duty on a second home or buy to let in England (2026): the 5% higher rates

How much is stamp duty on a second home in England?

A buyer who will own more than one home pays the higher rates for additional dwellings: 5% added to every Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) band. Adding the same rate to every band, including the zero band, comes to 5% of the whole price on top of the normal tax.

On a £300,000 second home, the normal bands give £5,000 and the higher rates add £15,000, so the buyer pays £20,000 in all.

England, £300,000: second home, tax-resident, owns another home

Line	Kind	Amount	Estimate range	Share of price
SDLT higher rates for an additional home (+5%)	Tax	£15,000		5.00%
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		£20,000		6.67%
Fees, typical		£1,500	£900 to £2,100	0.50%
Total on top of the price		£21,500	£20,900 to £22,100	7.17%

The rate rose from 3% to 5% for purchases completing on or after 31 October 2024 (HMRC policy paper). The Budget of 28 October 2026 kept it at 5%.

What does a second home cost at different prices?

Because the extra applies from the first pound, it makes up most of the tax on cheaper homes.

England by price: second home, tax-resident, owns another home

Price	Taxes	Fees, typical	Total on top	Estimate range	Share of price
£100,000	£5,000	£1,390	£6,390	£5,790 to £6,990	6.39%
£200,000	£11,500	£1,450	£12,950	£12,350 to £13,550	6.48%
£300,000	£20,000	£1,500	£21,500	£20,900 to £22,100	7.17%
£400,000	£30,000	£1,500	£31,500	£30,900 to £32,100	7.88%
£500,000	£40,000	£1,500	£41,500	£40,900 to £42,100	8.30%
£750,000	£65,000	£1,645	£66,645	£66,045 to £67,245	8.89%
£1,000,000	£93,750	£1,645	£95,395	£94,795 to £95,995	9.54%
£1,500,000	£168,750	£1,850	£170,600	£170,000 to £171,200	11.37%

Who pays the higher rates?

The test is in Finance Act 2003, Schedule 4ZA, paragraph 3. For a buyer who is an individual, the higher rates apply when all of these hold:

• the price is £40,000 or more (Condition A);
• at the end of the day of completion, the buyer owns another home worth £40,000 or more (Condition C);
• the new home is not replacing the buyer’s main home (Condition D).

Homes outside England count. Paragraph 17 extends the test to a home anywhere in the world, and GOV.UK’s guidance says the same. So a buyer who owns a flat in Spain or Portugal pays the higher rates on a purchase in England, even a first purchase in England.

Below £40,000 the higher rates do not apply.

Does buy to let pay the higher rates?

The higher rates depend on what the buyer owns, not on what the new home is for. A buy to let bought by someone who already owns a home pays them. A first buy to let, bought by someone who rents their own home and owns nothing else, pays the standard bands:

£250,000 buy to let	SDLT
Buyer owns no other home	£2,500
Buyer already owns a home	£15,000

That first buyer cannot claim first-time buyer relief either, because the relief needs the home to be the buyer’s main residence.

Does my spouse’s property count?

Yes. GOV.UK says the rules apply to married couples and civil partners “as if you were buying the property together, even if you’re not”. If either of them would have to pay the higher rates, the whole purchase pays them. The exception is a couple who are permanently separated.

Do you pay the 5% when replacing your main home?

Not if the old home has already gone. Paragraph 3(6) of Schedule 4ZA treats the purchase as a replacement, and the higher rates do not apply, when the buyer is buying a new main home and has sold or given away their previous main home in the three years before completion. The old main home can be anywhere in the world.

England, £400,000: main home, tax-resident, owns another home

Line	Kind	Amount	Estimate range	Share of price
Stamp Duty Land Tax	Tax	£10,000		2.50%
Conveyancing solicitor (market rate)	Fee, estimate	£1,000	£500 to £1,500	0.25%
Local searches	Fee, estimate	£350	£250 to £450	0.09%
HM Land Registry fee (Scale 1)	Fee	£150		0.04%
Taxes		£10,000		2.50%
Fees, typical		£1,500	£900 to £2,100	0.38%
Total on top of the price		£11,500	£10,900 to £12,100	2.88%

Can you get a stamp duty refund if you sell your old home later?

Yes. If the old main home has not been sold by the end of the completion day, the buyer pays the higher rates first. GOV.UK says the buyer can then get a refund if they sell or give away the previous main home within 3 years of buying the new one. The rules are:

• the claim must reach HMRC within 12 months of the sale of the old home, or within 12 months of the filing date of the new home’s SDLT return, whichever is later;
• no refund is due if the buyer or their spouse still owns part of the old home;
• HMRC can allow longer than 3 years in exceptional circumstances (Schedule 4ZA, paragraph 3(7B)).

On a £400,000 replacement home, the amount paid first and refunded later is the higher rates line: £20,000. The second home stamp duty refund guide explains how to claim it from HMRC with form SDLT16, and the refund at other prices.

What does a non-resident pay on a second home?

A buyer who is not UK resident also pays the non-resident surcharge of 2%, so the price carries 5% plus 2% on top of the standard bands. On a £300,000 second home that is £26,000. The 2% can be refunded if the buyer becomes UK resident within the time allowed; the 5% depends on ownership and is not affected. See the non-resident surcharge guide.

What this guide does not cover

• Companies, trusts and partnerships, which have their own higher rates rules and a separate single rate on expensive homes.
• Buying several homes in one transaction, inherited shares and other special cases in Schedule 4ZA.
• Scotland’s and Wales’s own surcharges on additional homes.
• Income tax on rent and capital gains tax on a sale.

Work out stamp duty on a second home at your price