Paying stamp duty when buying a home.

UK Stamp Duty - Current rates

Stamp Duty in the UK is the quaint old term for the government's slice of the action on your home purchase. That's right it's a tax.

It’s not just the seller who makes money when you buy a house. The Government gains too – in the form of stamp duty.

It makes around £5 billion a year from this 300-year-old property transfer tax.

Unless you’re buying in an area it has designated as ‘disadvantaged’, you’ll be obliged to pay if your chosen property costs more than £125,000.

Stamp Duty - Contents

Current Stamp Duty Rates

Stamp Duty Holiday for First Time Buyers

Stamp Duty Calculator / How much you will owe

How to avoid Stamp duty

The Politics of Stamp Duty

Exempt Areas

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Current Stamp Duty Rates Bands

The amount charged depends on the purchase price of the property. The latest rates for UK Stamp Duty are as follows:

Purchase price of property	Stamp Duty Payable
Up to £250,000 first time buyers only *	0
Up to £125,000	0
£125,001 to £250,000	1%
£250,001 to £500,000	3%
£500,001 to £1 million	4%
£1 million plus From 6 April 2011	5%

* This applies only to first time buyers.

Stamp Duty Calculator / How much you will owe

How to avoid Stamp duty

The Politics of Stamp Duty

Stamp duty is one of the most commonly used tools when the Government are trying to adjust public finances and / or bribe the electorate.

Most recently in the budget of March 2010 stamp duty for first time buyers was removed for properties below £250,000.

At the same time a new limit of £1 million plus was added (to take effect from 6/4/2011) where buyers would have to pay 5% stamp duty. (The previous top limit was £501,000 plus)

To read more on this subject please see the list below or your mortgage guide or your home buying guide

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Value of Property	£
		(eg 125000)

Borrow How Much?	£
		(eg 92500)

Your Mortgage Type

First time buyer?		Yes No
Have you found property?		Yes No
Country

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Disadvantaged Areas Excluded from Stamp Duty

If the property you’re buying is in an area the Government considers to be disadvantaged, it will be exempt from stamp duty if it costs £150,000 or less.

Revenue & Customs has an online database where you can check whether any property you’re interested in qualifies for this exemption.

Click on the link for a list of qualifying areas in each part of the UK:

To see the exact amount you would pay for a property see the Stamp Duty Calculator

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Please note, this information is NOT necessarily RELEVANT in Scotland

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