Stamp Duty Changes 2026

Stamp duty has changed twice in the last two years: thresholds reverted lower in April 2025, and surcharges on second homes went up across all three nations in late 2024.

Rates verified 31 July 2026 against gov.uk, Revenue Scotland and gov.wales.

England/NI second-home surcharge

3% → 5% (31 Oct 2024)

Scotland Additional Dwelling Supplement

6% → 8% (5 Dec 2024)

Wales higher rates for additional properties

All bands +1 point, now 5%-17% (11 Dec 2024)

England/NI standard nil-rate band

£250,000 → £125,000 (1 Apr 2025)

Timeline: what changed and when

Four separate changes reshaped stamp duty and its devolved equivalents between October 2024 and April 2025, not one single reform:

1. 31 October 2024: Autumn Budget 2024 raises England and Northern Ireland's second-home SDLT surcharge from 3% to 5%, effective for purchases completing on or after that date². See our second homes guide.
2. 5 December 2024: Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement rises from 6% to 8%³. See our Scotland stamp duty guide.
3. 11 December 2024: Wales raises every band of its higher residential rates for additional properties by one percentage point, so the bands now run from 5% up to 17%⁴. Wales has taxed additional properties under a separate banded structure since 2018 rather than a flat surcharge, so this was a rate rise, not a restructure. See our Wales stamp duty guide.
4. 1 April 2025: The temporary higher nil-rate thresholds introduced in September 2022 expire, exactly as originally legislated. England and Northern Ireland's standard threshold falls from £250,000 back to £125,000, and first-time buyer relief falls from £425,000 (capped at £625,000) back to £300,000 (capped at £500,000)¹.

Two older changes for context:

• September 2022: the mini-budget temporarily raised the standard threshold from £125,000 to £250,000, and first-time buyer relief from £300,000 to £425,000 (capped at £625,000)
• July 2020 to October 2021: a COVID-19 stamp duty holiday temporarily raised the nil-rate threshold as high as £500,000, before unwinding in stages back to pre-pandemic levels

England's current £125,000 threshold isn't a fresh cut, it's a return to where the threshold stood before the September 2022 mini-budget. If you're reading an older article, forum post or calculator that quotes £250,000 or £425,000, it's describing the temporary 2022-2025 rules that no longer apply.

Current rates in England and Northern Ireland

As of 3 July 2026, standard SDLT rates are:

First-time buyers pay 0% up to £300,000, then 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. Relief disappears entirely above £500,000, at which point standard rates apply to the whole price. Second homes and buy-to-let properties pay the standard rate plus a 5% surcharge on the full price. See our full stamp duty guide and first-time buyer guide for worked examples using these current figures.

Current rates in Scotland

Scotland's standard LBTT bands weren't touched by any of the 2024/2025 changes: 0% up to £145,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £325,000, 10% to £750,000, 12% above. First-time buyers get 0% up to £175,000, with no upper price cap. What did change is the Additional Dwelling Supplement on second homes, now 8% instead of 6%. See our Scotland guide for worked examples.

Current rates in Wales

Wales's standard LTT bands are also unchanged: 0% up to £225,000, 6% to £400,000, 7.5% to £750,000, 10% to £1.5 million, 12% above. There's still no first-time buyer relief. The big change is structural: second homes now pay a separate set of higher rates, from 5% to 17%, rather than a flat surcharge on top of the standard bands. Full detail in our Wales guide.

All three nations at a glance

Scotland now has the highest flat-rate surcharge, but Wales can charge more in cash terms on higher-value second homes once you're deep into its upper bands, since its top rate of 17% applies to the portion of price above £1.5 million, well above what a flat percentage surcharge would add at that level. There's no single answer to "which nation charges the most" without picking a specific property price to compare.

Reclaim windows differ too, if you're buying a new main residence before selling your old one. England and Wales both give you 3 years to sell and get the surcharge back; Scotland's window is 36 months, functionally close to the same length but administered separately through Revenue Scotland rather than HMRC or the Welsh Revenue Authority.

What if you exchanged before a rate change?

Each of these changes came with its own transitional rules, generally protecting buyers who had already exchanged contracts before the change was announced or took effect, even if they complete afterwards. The exact protection differs by change and by nation, and the fine print (which date counts, what counts as "exchange," whether there's a completion deadline to qualify) is set out in the specific legislation or guidance for that change, not in a single general rule you can apply across the board. If your purchase straddles one of the dates in the timeline above, don't assume either the old or new rate applies automatically; ask your solicitor to confirm which rules apply to your specific contract dates before completion.

What might change next

There's no legislated future change scheduled right now. Nothing in the current rules is due to expire or step up on a fixed date, unlike the 2022 mini-budget cuts, which always had a built-in expiry written into the legislation.

That doesn't mean the rates are fixed forever. Stamp duty and its devolved equivalents get reviewed at fiscal events: the Chancellor's Budget for England and Northern Ireland, the Scottish Budget for LBTT, and Welsh Government fiscal statements. Historically, thresholds stay still for a few years, then move in one go rather than drifting gradually. If you're planning a purchase and want to be sure nothing has moved since this page was last reviewed, cross-check against the official HMRC calculator for England and Northern Ireland, or the equivalent Revenue Scotland and Welsh Revenue Authority tools for Scotland and Wales.

Frequently asked questions

Is it true stamp duty thresholds haven't changed since 2022?

No. That was true for a while, but the picture changed substantially between October 2024 and April 2025, with four separate changes across the three nations, covered in the timeline above.

Did the 2022 stamp duty cuts get reversed?

Yes, in England and Northern Ireland. The higher thresholds introduced in September 2022 were only ever temporary, and they expired on 1 April 2025 as originally planned, reverting to the earlier, lower thresholds.

What is the current stamp duty threshold in England?

As of 3 July 2026, the standard nil-rate threshold is £125,000, and the first-time buyer relief threshold is £300,000, tapering to £500,000. These reverted from the higher temporary levels of £250,000 and £425,000 on 1 April 2025.

Do the reclaim windows for second-home surcharges differ by nation?

Yes. England gives you 3 years to sell your previous main residence and reclaim the SDLT surcharge. Wales uses the same 3-year window for its higher rates. Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement reclaim window is 36 months, extended from 18 months for transactions completing on or after 1 April 2024, which works out close to England's and Wales's 3-year rule in practice.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-31. Rates verified against gov.uk, Revenue Scotland and gov.wales.