If you're buying your first home, stamp duty is probably the tax you understand least and fear most. Here's the truth: for most first-time buyers, it's smaller than you think — and sometimes it's nothing at all.
Let's clear it up properly.
BandBack Move builds you a free week-by-week checklist tailored to exactly where you are in your move — in 60 seconds.
Build My Free Plan →Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax you pay when you buy property in England or Northern Ireland over a certain price. Scotland and Wales have their own versions (LBTT and LTT), with different thresholds — if you're buying there, the numbers below won't apply directly to you.
It's paid once, at completion, usually handled by your solicitor as part of the process. You won't need to write a cheque yourself — but you do need the money available, because it comes out of your completion funds.
If you're a genuine first-time buyer (never owned property anywhere in the world, buying as your only or main home), you get a meaningfully better deal than everyone else:
| Purchase price | Rate |
|---|---|
| First £300,000 | 0% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% |
| Above £500,000 | Standard rates — no first time buyer relief |
So if you're buying your first home for £280,000, you pay nothing. Buy at £400,000, and you only pay 5% on the £100,000 above the threshold — that's £5,000. But cross £500,000, even by a pound, and the relief vanishes completely — a genuine cliff edge worth planning around if your offer is close to that line.
Say you're buying your first home at £400,000:
Compare that to someone who's owned property before, buying the same house — standard rates apply from £125,000 upward, landing closer to £8,750. Thresholds dropped sharply in April 2025 (down from a £425,000 nil-rate band and £625,000 cap), so if you've seen older figures quoted elsewhere, they're now out of date.
You must never have owned a residential property anywhere in the world before — not just the UK. If you inherited a share of a property, even one you never lived in or profited from, you may not qualify. If you're buying with a partner and either of you has owned before, the relief usually doesn't apply to either of you.
If you're unsure whether you qualify, this is genuinely worth checking with your solicitor early — not at completion, when it's too late to plan around.
Stamp duty is due within 14 days of completion, but in practice your solicitor collects it as part of your completion funds and pays it on your behalf. It's one more reason your deposit and completion money need to be fully ready before your exchange date — no last-minute scrambling.
Your free plan shows when to do this and connects you with an FCA-regulated adviser if you choose.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up mortgage repayments.
Stamp duty thresholds are set by the government and do get reviewed. What's accurate today may shift — always confirm current thresholds with your solicitor or on gov.uk before relying on exact figures for your own purchase.
Don't let stamp duty be the only thing you've planned for. Moving involves dozens of smaller tasks that are easy to miss — broadband installation, meter readings, redirecting your post, sorting insurance before exchange. BandBack Move builds you a free, personalised checklist in 60 seconds, so you know exactly what to do and when, from offer accepted through to settling in.
Move Smarter, Stress Less, Settle In.
Get Your Free Moving Plan →