Stamp Duty for First-Time Buyers in 2026: A Plain-English Guide

What Stamp Duty actually is

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax you pay when you buy a freehold or leasehold property in England or Northern Ireland above a certain price. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT); Wales charges Land Transaction Tax (LTT). The rules below are for SDLT only.

First-time buyers get a specific relief that cuts or wipes out the bill on cheaper homes — but it has two cliff-edges, and crossing either one moves you back onto the standard rates entirely. Use our Stamp Duty calculadora to see the exact bill for your price.

First-time-buyer relief — the two thresholds

For completions in 2026 the first-time-buyer relief looks like this:

• 0% SDLT on the first £425,000
• 5% SDLT on the slice between £425,001 and £625,000
• Relief withdrawn entirely if the price exceeds £625,000 — you fall back to the full standard rates

Who counts as a "first-time buyer"?

HMRC's definition is stricter than most people expect. All of these must be true:

• You have never previously owned a freehold or leasehold interest in a UK or overseas residential property
• If you're buying with someone else, every buyer must be a first-time buyer
• The property must be used as your main residence, not a buy-to-let

Worked example 1 — buying at £385,000

Under first-time-buyer relief, the whole purchase sits below £425,000.

SDLT = £0. You have nothing to declare on the Stamp Duty side — although your solicitor will still file the SDLT return showing a nil liability.

Worked example 2 — buying at £550,000

You're above £425,000 but below the £625,000 cliff.

• First £425,000 × 0% = £0

• Next £125,000 × 5% = £6,250

Total SDLT = £6,250. Standard non-FTB rates on the same purchase would have produced £15,000, so the relief is worth £8,750.

Worked example 3 — the cliff at £626,000

Above £625,000 the relief is withdrawn entirely. You pay standard rates on the full price:

• First £250,000 × 0% = £0

• Next £675,000 × 5% = £33,750

• (For completeness — nothing above £925,000 in this example)

Total SDLT at £626,000 = £18,800. Compare with £16,300 at £624,000 under the relief. Negotiating £2,000 down can save you £2,500 in tax.

Why timing matters

The £425,000 and £625,000 thresholds were set in autumn 2022 and extended through 2025. From 1 April 2025 they reverted to £300,000 and £500,000 in earlier guidance, but Spring 2026 confirmed the £425k/£625k levels will remain for at least one more tax year. Always check GOV.UK on the day your conveyancer files the return — the deadline is 14 days after completion.

If you have a choice of completion date, pushing a 28 February completion to 10 March can save thousands if thresholds are moving.

The Higher Rate Additional Dwelling (HRAD) trap

If you already own any property anywhere in the world and are not replacing your main residence, the Additional Dwelling surcharge adds 5 percentage points on top of every band. First-time-buyer relief cannot apply, because you're not a first-time buyer in HMRC's eyes.

A common surprise: if you're married and your spouse already owns a home in their sole name, you're treated as joint owners for HRAD purposes. You can't get FTB relief either.

What about Scotland and Wales?

Scotland (LBTT): First-time buyers get relief up to £175,000. Above that, standard LBTT bands bite from £145,001. The cliff-edge is less severe than SDLT — the relief is a flat £600 cap rather than full withdrawal.

Wales (LTT): No first-time-buyer specific relief. Everyone pays LTT from £225,000 onwards, at 6% to £400k, then 7.5% to £750k.

Planning a first-time-buyer purchase — three questions to ask

• Will the price be under £425k, between £425k and £625k, or above? Each zone has a very different tax story.
• Are you genuinely the only owner? Parents "on the mortgage for affordability" are often named on the title too, which kills FTB status.
• When will you complete? Anything close to a Budget or Spring Statement is worth checking once more before exchange.