Moving to England and buying a home (2026): stamp duty before and after the move

What changes when you buy in England before you move?

Two surcharges can apply to someone moving to England, and they work differently:

Surcharge	Depends on	Rate	Can it come back?
Non-resident surcharge	Days spent in the UK	2% of the price	Yes, once every buyer meets the 183-day test within 365 days after completion
Higher rates for additional homes	Homes owned anywhere in the world	5% of the price	Yes, if a former main home is sold within 3 years

Moving changes the first, not the second. The rest of this guide takes the steps of a move in order. The rules of the 2% itself are in the non-resident surcharge guide.

Do you pay the 2% if you buy before you arrive?

Usually. The SDLT return is due within 14 days after completion (Finance Act 2003, section 76), and at that point GOV.UK’s test looks back over the 12 months before the purchase: a buyer who was not in the UK for at least 183 days is not UK resident for SDLT. So someone still living abroad pays the surcharge on completion.

For a buyer who owns no other home, buying a £400,000 home:

Buyer	SDLT
Not yet UK resident	£18,000
UK resident	£10,000
Difference: the surcharge	£8,000

Can you get the 2% back after you move?

Yes. HMRC’s manual sets the window (SDLTM09880). A buyer counts as UK resident for the purchase if they are in the UK at the end of at least 183 days in any continuous 365-day period that falls between 364 days before completion and 365 days after it. A buyer who arrives around the time of the purchase and stays can therefore meet the test after the return has been filed.

The refund is claimed by amending the SDLT return, within 2 years starting the day after completion (SDLTM09960). The steps in order:

When	What happens
Completion	The purchase completes while the buyer is not yet UK resident.
Within 14 days	The return is filed and the tax paid with the 2% included.
Up to 365 days after completion	Each buyer reaches 183 days in the UK within a 365-day period.
Within 2 years of completion	The return is amended and HMRC repays the 2%.

If there are several buyers, the refund is due only once every one of them has met the test (SDLTM09880 and SDLTM09960).

Does a spouse already living in the UK change this?

Yes. When two spouses or civil partners buy together, live together, and one of them is UK resident, the non-resident partner is treated as UK resident for the surcharge (Finance Act 2003, Schedule 9A, paragraph 12; SDLTM09885). The purchase then pays no 2% at all. This only works when both are buyers; it does not apply to other joint buyers, such as friends or unmarried partners.

Do you pay the 5% if you still own your home abroad?

Yes, unless the new home replaces it. The higher rates apply when, at the end of the completion day, the buyer owns another home worth £40,000 or more, and the law counts homes outside England (Finance Act 2003, Schedule 4ZA, paragraphs 3 and 17). A flat in Lisbon or a house in Madrid counts the same as one in Manchester. Moving to the UK does not change this, because the test is about ownership, not residence.

A buyer still living abroad who keeps their home there pays both surcharges:

England, £400,000: main home, not tax-resident, owns another home

Line	Kind	Amount	Estimate range	Share of price
SDLT higher rates for an additional home (+5%)	Tax	£20,000		5.00%
Stamp Duty Land Tax	Tax	£10,000		2.50%
SDLT non-resident surcharge (+2%)	Tax	£8,000		2.00%
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		£38,000		9.50%
Fees, typical		£1,500	£900 to £2,100	0.38%
Total on top of the price		£39,500	£38,900 to £40,100	9.88%

What if you sell your home abroad before or after buying?

The replacement rule covers a former main home anywhere in the world (Schedule 4ZA, paragraph 17(3) applies the worldwide test to paragraphs 3(6) and 3(7)):

• Sold before completion in England (within the previous 3 years): no higher rates.
• Sold after completion: the higher rates are paid first, then refunded if the old main home is sold within 3 years of buying the new one. GOV.UK says the claim must be made within 12 months of the sale, or of the filing date of the new return if later.

A buyer who has sold their main home abroad and is still non-resident on completion pays the 2% surcharge but not the 5% higher rates:

England, £400,000: main home, not tax-resident, owns another home

Line	Kind	Amount	Estimate range	Share of price
Stamp Duty Land Tax	Tax	£10,000		2.50%
SDLT non-resident surcharge (+2%)	Tax	£8,000		2.00%
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		£18,000		4.50%
Fees, typical		£1,500	£900 to £2,100	0.38%
Total on top of the price		£19,500	£18,900 to £20,100	4.88%

Homes abroad that were never the buyer’s main home, such as a holiday flat or a rental, do not qualify for the replacement rule.

Can you be a first-time buyer in England after living abroad?

Only if no buyer has ever owned a home anywhere. HMRC counts a home or a share of a home anywhere in the world, whatever its value, including one inherited or given (SDLTM29845). A buyer who has never owned one gets the relief even before becoming UK resident, with the 2% on top:

£350,000 home, first-time buyer	SDLT
Not yet UK resident	£9,500
UK resident	£2,500

See first-time buyer stamp duty for the limits.

Is it cheaper to buy before or after you move?

In the end the tax is the same if the 2% comes back: buying first means paying it on completion and claiming it later. What does not change with the move is the 5%, because it depends on what the buyer owns. The sale of a former main home abroad is the step that removes or refunds it.

Situation on a £400,000 home	SDLT paid on completion
Already UK resident, home abroad sold	£10,000
Not yet resident, home abroad sold	£18,000
Already UK resident, home abroad kept	£30,000
Not yet resident, home abroad kept	£38,000

What this guide does not cover

• Income tax, capital gains tax and the statutory residence test, which are separate from the SDLT day count.
• Visas and immigration status: SDLT looks only at days in the UK, not at nationality or visa.
• Companies and trusts, which have their own residence rules.
• Scotland and Wales, which have their own purchase taxes that this site does not calculate.

For buying in other countries before moving, see moving abroad.

Work out SDLT for a buyer moving to England