What a second home adds at each price
The tables put the same purchase through both sets of rates, so the extra shows up as a number rather than a percentage you have to apply yourself. Every figure comes from the same rate tables the calculator above uses.
England and Northern Ireland
| Purchase price | Standard rates | Second home | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £15,000 | £12,500 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £25,000 | £17,500 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £40,000 | £25,000 |
| £750,000 | £27,500 | £65,000 | £37,500 |
The extra lands at exactly 5% of the price every time, because the higher rates add 5 percentage points to each band rather than changing where the bands sit.
Wales
| Purchase price | Standard rates | Second home | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £1,500 | £14,950 | £13,450 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £24,950 | £17,450 |
| £500,000 | £18,000 | £42,450 | £24,450 |
| £750,000 | £36,750 | £73,700 | £36,950 |
Wales is the odd one out. The extra is not a fixed share of the price, because the higher rates come from their own band table rather than an uplift on the standard one.
Scotland
| Purchase price | Standard rates | Second home | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £2,100 | £22,100 | £20,000 |
| £350,000 | £8,350 | £36,350 | £28,000 |
| £500,000 | £23,350 | £63,350 | £40,000 |
| £750,000 | £48,350 | £108,350 | £60,000 |
The extra is exactly 8% of the price. Scotland leaves the LBTT bands alone and adds the Additional Dwelling Supplement to the banded total as a single figure.
How the three regimes differ
All three charge more for an additional property, and all three arrive at that figure a different way. Which one applies depends on where the property is, not where the buyer lives.
England and Northern Ireland: 5% on top
The higher rates are 5% on top of the standard SDLT rates, band for band. On a purchase of £40,000 or more, a non-UK resident buyer pays a further 2% on top of all other residential rates, including these. Full SDLT guide.
| Purchase price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 5% |
| £125,000 – £250,000 | 7% |
| £250,000 – £925,000 | 10% |
| £925,000 – £1,500,000 | 15% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 17% |
Wales: a separate band table
Wales does not add a percentage to the standard rates. It has its own higher-rate bands, which start charging from the first pound where the standard table charges nothing below £225,000. Wales has no first-time buyer relief at all. Full LTT guide.
| Purchase price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £180,000 | 5% |
| £180,000 – £250,000 | 8.5% |
| £250,000 – £400,000 | 10% |
| £400,000 – £750,000 | 12.5% |
| £750,000 – £1,500,000 | 15% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 17% |
Scotland: 8% of the whole price
For transactions on or after 5 December 2024 the Additional Dwelling Supplement is 8% of the purchase price. It is charged on the full purchase price, not just the portion above a threshold. England and Wales both work out the additional-property charge band by band; Scotland does not band it at all, so the supplement is one flat percentage of everything you pay, added to the banded LBTT. Full ADS guide for Scotland.
When the higher rates apply
England and Northern Ireland
gov.uk says you must pay the higher rates when you buy a residential property for £40,000 or more if all of the following apply:
- it will not be the only residential property worth £40,000 or more that you own (or part own) anywhere in the world
- you have not sold or given away your previous main home
- no one else has a lease on it which has more than 21 years left to run
All of them have to apply, not just one. Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax on gov.uk.
Wales
The higher residential rates apply when you buy a residential property worth £40,000 or more and you already own one or more other properties. Higher rates of Land Transaction Tax on gov.wales.
Scotland
ADS does not apply where the amount payable for the property being purchased is less than £40,000, and it does not apply if you only own one dwelling at the end of the effective date. Companies are treated differently: ADS applies to most purchases of residential property in Scotland by non-natural persons (corporate bodies, companies and certain trusts) even where they have no other residential properties. Additional Dwelling Supplement on revenue.scot.
The calculator applies the £40,000 floor in all three nations: with the additional-property setting on, a purchase below £40,000 is charged at the standard rates with no supplement on top.
Replacing your main home
Buying before selling usually means paying the higher rates up front and claiming the difference back once the old home is gone. Each nation sets its own window for the sale, and its own claim process.
England and Northern Ireland
The previous main residence has to be sold within 36 months of completing the new purchase. For sales on or after 29 October 2018, HMRC must receive the refund request by whichever date is the later of 12 months after the date of sale, or 12 months after the filing date of the SDLT return.
Scotland
ADS can be repaid where the previous main residence was disposed of in the 36 months before the new main residence was purchased. The 36-month period applies to transactions with effective dates on or after 1 April 2024; before that it was 18 months.
Wales
The previous main residence must have been sold within 3 years of buying the new property to qualify for a refund. The claim process is set out on gov.wales.
Letting the property out instead
The charge follows how many properties you end up owning, not what the property is used for, so a rental is treated the same way as a second home. Stamp duty on a buy-to-let covers the landlord side and the non-UK resident surcharge. Buying through a company lands on the same higher rates as a second home, except above £500,000, where England and Northern Ireland charge a company a flat rate no individual pays: the limited company calculator covers that.