England and Northern Ireland: April 2025 thresholds
From 1 April 2025, the standard residential SDLT nil-rate band returned to £125,000. The first-time buyer nil-rate band became £300,000, with relief available only when the total price is no more than £500,000.
For the immediately preceding period, standard-rate buyers had a £250,000 nil-rate band, and first-time buyer relief used different £425,000 and £625,000 limits. Do not use those earlier figures for a current purchase.
Additional-property changes in late 2024
In England and Northern Ireland, the higher-rate addition increased from 3 to 5 percentage points from 31 October 2024, subject to transitional provisions. In Scotland, ADS generally increased to 8% from 5 December 2024. In Wales, the current higher residential LTT bands generally apply from 11 December 2024.
These were separate changes made under different tax systems. A single “UK stamp duty increase” headline may conceal different effective dates, thresholds and contract protections.
Special rules can change without a new main rate table
Welsh guidance includes a time-limited higher-rate exception for qualifying purchases subsequently leased to a Welsh local authority, applying to purchases within a specified period starting on 13 February 2026. It requires a specific eligibility assessment and is not applied automatically by our calculator.
More generally, eligibility guidance, filing procedures and relief conditions can change even if the headline residential bands remain the same. Use the linked official sources for the full rules.
How to use the dates on this website
Our rates were checked on 12 October 2026. The calculators use current rules and do not offer historical completion-date calculations. An earlier contract or transaction with transitional protection needs the rates appropriate to that transaction.
StampDutyCal updates its information when rules change. The checked date records a research check; it is not a promise that the site monitors every announcement continuously. Proposed changes are not applied as effective law. If you find a discrepancy, send the page and relevant source to our contact team.
RESEARCH & CORRECTIONS
Sources and review
Researched and maintained by StampDutyCal. Checked on against the official sources below. This is our own research, not an independent professional tax review. We update the website when rules change.