buying

Stamp duty second home and buy-to-let: the surcharge with worked examples

Stamp duty on a second home or buy-to-let in England, Scotland and Wales: the extra 5% and 8% charges, worked examples at four prices and the refund rules.

4 min read
Last reviewed 4 November 2026
By Your Property Check team

Part 1 of 7

The short answer

General information, not advice. This page covers England and Northern Ireland (Stamp Duty Land Tax), Scotland (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax) and Wales (Land Transaction Tax). We checked the rates on 4 November 2026 against GOV.UK, Revenue Scotland and GOV.WALES. The Autumn Budget may change them, so confirm before you exchange.

GOV.UK says the higher rates apply when you buy a residential property for £40,000 or more and it will not be your only residential property anywhere in the world. The same rules cover a second home and a buy-to-let, because the test is what else you own, not whether you will rent it out. They also reach your spouse or civil partner and anyone you buy with.

Part 2 of 7

England and Northern Ireland: worked examples

GOV.UK says you usually pay 5% on top of the standard rates, which are 0% to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above. The 5% is charged on the full price, not just the part above a band. We computed these with our stamp duty code.

Price	Main home SDLT	Additional property SDLT	Extra paid
£200,000	£1,500	£11,500	£10,000
£300,000	£5,000	£20,000	£15,000
£500,000	£15,000	£40,000	£25,000
£925,000	£36,250	£82,500	£46,250

The £300,000 row matches GOV.UK's own example of £20,000. Companies buying residential property generally pay the higher rates too, and non-UK residents pay a further 2% surcharge, according to GOV.UK.

Part 3 of 7

Scotland and Wales

Scotland charges LBTT on its own bands, then adds the Additional Dwelling Supplement. Revenue Scotland says the ADS is 8% of the purchase price for transactions on or after 5 December 2024, and was 6% before that, with a transitional rule if the contract was made on or before 4 December 2024. The £40,000 threshold applies here too.

Wales does not use a flat surcharge. GOV.WALES lists separate higher residential rates for buyers who already own a home, from 11 December 2024: 5% up to £180,000, 8.5% to £250,000, 10% to £400,000, 12.5% to £750,000, 15% to £1.5 million and 17% above.

Price	Scotland main home	Scotland with 8% ADS	Wales main home	Wales higher rates
£300,000	£4,600	£28,600	£4,500	£19,950
£500,000	£23,350	£63,350	£18,000	£42,450

These figures assume no reliefs apply.

Part 4 of 7

Is the surcharge refundable?

Yes, in one common case: replacing your main residence. GOV.UK says that in England and Northern Ireland, if you sell or give away your previous main home within 3 years of buying the new one, you can apply for a refund of the higher-rate part. You cannot get a refund if you or your spouse still own any part of the old home. Claims have deadlines, so read the current GOV.UK guidance.

Revenue Scotland sets out a similar test for the ADS: the previous property must be sold within 36 months of the new purchase, it must have been your only or main residence at some point in the 36 months before, and you must live in the new property as your main residence. Revenue Scotland says it cannot consider exceptional circumstances. We did not read an equivalent Welsh refund page, so check GOV.WALES for Wales.

Part 5 of 7

Buy-to-let and companies

A buy-to-let purchase falls under the higher rates when it is not your only residential property. GOV.UK says companies buying residential property generally pay the higher rates, and a separate 17% rate may apply to some corporate purchases over £500,000. Rental profits and Capital Gains Tax are separate matters this page does not cover. Our buy-to-let stress test looks at whether the yield works after costs.

Part 6 of 7

Why the whole price is surcharged

Many buyers expect the extra rate to apply only above a threshold. GOV.UK's higher rates start at 5% on the first £125,000, so the extra 5% is charged from the first pound of the price, once the price reaches £40,000. This is why the extra cost at £500,000 is £25,000 and not a smaller figure. Because each pound is taxed, the surcharge is a larger share of a modest property's price than of an expensive one.

Part 7 of 7

Before you buy

Work out the tax for your exact price and buyer type with the stamp duty calculator. Our glossary entries on SDLT and the Additional Dwelling Supplement define the terms. If a solicitor handles your purchase, ask them to confirm whether the higher rates apply before exchange, because the answer depends on everything you and your partner own.

This page is general information, not advice.

Our take

Add the surcharge to the budget before you offer

In England and Northern Ireland the surcharge is 5% of the whole price, not just the slice above a band: GOV.UK gives £20,000 on a £300,000 extra property. Scotland adds 8% and Wales has its own higher rates. Our view: the mistake is pricing the deal without it.

Our stamp duty calculator covers SDLT, LBTT and LTT, including additional-property rates. Then the property deal analyser, a free BTL, HMO and BRR ROI calculator, shows what the return looks like with the tax included.

Analyse the deal

Our opinion, drawn from the facts on this page: not advice and not a forecast. We earn from OfferCheck reports and from introducing sellers to cash buyers, so weigh it with that in mind (see our disclosure). We are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

How much extra stamp duty on a second home?

In England and Northern Ireland GOV.UK says you usually pay 5% on top of the standard rates, charged on the full price. On a £300,000 extra property that gives £20,000 in total, which is £15,000 more than a main home.

Is the stamp duty surcharge refundable?

Sometimes. In England, if you sell your previous main home within 3 years of buying the new one, GOV.UK says you can apply for a refund of the higher part. Scotland has a similar 36 month rule for the ADS.

Does the surcharge apply to buy-to-let?

Yes, when the property will not be your only residential property. The test is what else you own, not whether you rent it out. Companies generally pay the higher rates too, according to GOV.UK.

What does Scotland charge for a second home?

Scotland adds the Additional Dwelling Supplement of 8% of the price for transactions on or after 5 December 2024, according to Revenue Scotland, on top of its normal LBTT bands.

Does the second home surcharge apply in Wales?

Wales uses separate higher residential rates rather than a flat surcharge, from 11 December 2024, starting at 5% on the first £180,000. Use the Wales figures in the table, not the English ones.

Where this comes from

Sources

Last reviewed 4 November 2026 by the Your Property Check team. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, speak to a conveyancing solicitor or another qualified professional.