Buying a home when you already own one usually means paying the stamp duty higher rates. In England and Northern Ireland they add 5 percentage points to every Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) band, including the part of the price that would otherwise be tax-free. They’ve been at this level since 31 October 2024. Scotland and Wales have their own versions, covered below.
When the higher rates apply
In England and Northern Ireland you pay 5% on top of every SDLT band when you buy a home for £40,000 or more and it won't be the only home you own anywhere in the world, unless it replaces your main home; if you sell your previous main home within 3 years, you can claim the extra back.The conditions in full:
- The home costs £40,000 or more.
- After buying it, you'll own (or part own) more than one residential property worth £40,000 or more, anywhere in the world.
- You haven't sold or given away your previous main home (by the day you complete, or earlier).
- Nobody else holds a lease on the property with more than 21 years left to run (buying the freehold of a flat let on a long lease doesn't count).
- Married couples and civil partners count as one buyer, even if only one of you is buying; if you buy with others, the higher rates apply to the whole purchase if any buyer is caught.
- If you sell or give away your previous main home within 3 years of buying the new one, you can claim a refund of the extra, within 12 months of the sale or of the filing date of the new home's return, whichever is later.
They catch more than second homes and buy-to-let. You can pay them on a home you’ll live in, for example if you keep your old home and let it out, if you part own another property (including one abroad), or if your husband, wife or civil partner owns a property.
They don’t apply to a property worth less than £40,000, to mixed-use property such as a shop with a flat above it, to caravans, houseboats and mobile homes, or to a transfer of a share of a home to your spouse or civil partner with no one else involved.
How much more you pay
| Price | Moving home (only home) | Additional home | Extra you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £1,500 | £11,500 | £10,000 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £20,000 | £15,000 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £30,000 | £20,000 |
| £600,000 | £20,000 | £50,000 | £30,000 |
Because the extra 5 points apply to every band, the difference is always 5% of the whole price. Non-UK residents pay a further 2% on top. Try your own price in the stamp duty calculator.
Replacing your main home
If the home you’re buying replaces your main home and you’ve already sold (or given away) the old one by the day you complete, the higher rates don’t apply, even if you own other property such as a buy-to-let.
If you buy before you sell, you pay the higher rates at completion and claim the extra back once the old home is sold.
Claiming the refund
If you sell or give away your previous main home within 3 years of buying the new one, you can claim a refund of the extra, within 12 months of the sale or of the filing date of the new home's return, whichever is later.- You can’t get the refund if you or your spouse still own part of the old home, or if the higher rates still apply for another reason (for example, you own a buy-to-let as well and the new home didn’t replace your main home).
- Apply online or by post to HMRC with the details of the sale and of the new purchase.
- If you couldn’t sell within 3 years because of exceptional circumstances outside your control, such as a public authority stopping the sale, HMRC may still allow a refund for a home bought on or after 1 January 2017.
Other stamp duty refunds
HMRC also refunds SDLT if you were not UK resident when you paid the non-resident surcharge but became resident afterwards, if you didn’t claim a relief you were entitled to, if you paid residential rates on a property that should have paid non-residential rates, or if you simply overpaid. HMRC pays most refunds without checking first and has up to 9 months to check the claim afterwards; if you use an agent to claim, you’re still responsible for the claim being right and must repay any refund that wasn’t due, with interest.
Scotland and Wales
Scotland (LBTT): In Scotland, buying a home for £40,000 or more when you'll own more than one dwelling adds the Additional Dwelling Supplement of 8% of the whole price, on top of LBTT, unless the home replaces a main residence you sold in the previous 36 months; sell your old main home within 36 months of buying and you can claim it back. See the LBTT guide.
Wales (LTT): In Wales, buying a home for £40,000 or more when you already own one or more other properties means the higher residential LTT rates apply, unless it replaces your main home; sell your previous main home within 3 years and you can usually claim a refund. See the LTT guide.
Related guides
- Stamp duty in the UK: SDLT, LBTT and LTT explained
- Stamp duty rates 2026/27
- Stamp duty calculator
- Buy-to-let mortgages
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