Calculate stamp duty relief for first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland at 2026/27 rates.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Founder, Calks.uk
Last updated: · Verified against HMRC and GOV.UK 2026/27 rates
Rates verified: 28 September 2026
Disclaimer
This calculator is for guidance only. It is not financial or tax advice: check anything you rely on against the official source or a qualified adviser. Rates and figures come from HMRC and GOV.UK and are reviewed for the 2026/27 tax year. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you enter is sent to our servers.
How It Works
First-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland benefit from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief on residential property purchases. From April 2025, no SDLT is payable on the first £300,000 of the purchase price provided the property costs no more than £500,000. The portion between £300,001 and £500,000 is taxed at 5%. On a £425,000 purchase that comes to £6,250, an effective rate of 1.47%, against £11,250 under standard rates and a saving of £5,000.
To qualify, you must never have owned a freehold or leasehold interest in a residential property anywhere in the world, and the property has to be the one you will live in as your main home. If you are buying jointly, all purchasers must be first-time buyers. Properties priced above £500,000 do not qualify for any relief and standard rates apply to the entire purchase, which makes that £500,000 line one of the sharpest cliff edges in UK property tax.
The disqualifying cases catch people out more often than the price cap does. Inheriting a share of a property, even 1% of one, counts as ownership. So does owning property abroad, including an unused holiday share. Being added to the deeds of a parent's house as a helping hand has the same effect. Buying alongside someone who has owned before removes the relief from the purchase, and a buy-to-let never attracts it regardless of your personal status.
This calculator checks your eligibility based on the property price, then applies the first-time buyer bands to show your total SDLT bill. It also compares what you would pay under standard rates, so the saving appears in pounds rather than percentage points, which is the figure that matters when you are budgeting for completion day.
A separate scheme can cut the purchase price itself. The First Homes Scheme offers a 30% to 50% discount off new-build properties for local first-time buyers earning under £80k, or £90k in London, and that discount stays with the property when it passes to the next first-time buyer. A minimum 5% deposit applies to the discounted price. Combined with SDLT relief, a £300k First Home in Manchester might cost £200k with no SDLT at all, a saving of £25k or more against the market price.
The deposit has two savings wrappers worth comparing. The Help-to-Buy ISA, closed to new accounts in November 2019, pays a 25% bonus on up to £12,000 of savings, capped at £3k, and works on properties up to £250k, or £450k in London. The Lifetime ISA pays the same 25% bonus on up to £4k a year and covers properties up to £450k anywhere. Existing Help-to-Buy ISA holders can keep contributing until November 2029, and a LISA offers a higher annual bonus and property cap. The government consulted in summer 2026 on a new First Time Buyer ISA that will replace the LISA for new savers once it launches; until then a LISA can still be opened. Transferring a Help-to-Buy ISA into a LISA is possible, so it is worth asking your provider.
Example: £425,000 first home purchase
- £0–£300,000 at 0% = £0
- £300,001–£425,000 at 5% = £6,250
- Total SDLT: £6,250 (effective rate: 1.47%)
- Under standard rates this would be £11,250 (£2,500 at 2% plus £8,750 at 5%), a saving of £5,000
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do first-time buyers pay any stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland?
- If you are buying your first home for £500,000 or less, no SDLT is charged on the first £300,000, and the slice from £300,001 to £500,000 is taxed at 5%. A purchase at £425,000 therefore costs £6,250. Properties costing more than £500,000 do not qualify for this relief, and standard rates then apply to the whole price rather than only to the amount above the cap.
- Does inheriting a share of a house end my first-time buyer status?
- Yes. Any freehold or leasehold interest in a residential property counts, wherever in the world it sits and however small the share, so inheriting even 1% of a house rules you out. The same goes for a property abroad you have never used, and for being named on the deeds of a parent's home as a helping hand. The test is ownership rather than occupation, and it does not matter how the interest came to you.
- What happens if I buy with someone who has owned before?
- The relief requires every purchaser to be a first-time buyer, so buying with someone who has owned property before means no relief on that purchase and standard SDLT on the full price. It is worth running both figures before you commit, since this calculator shows the relieved and standard bills side by side. A buy-to-let purchase falls outside the relief in the same way, whatever your own ownership history looks like.
- Should I use a Lifetime ISA or a Help-to-Buy ISA?
- Only the Lifetime ISA is open to new savers. Both pay a 25% government bonus, but the Help-to-Buy ISA closed to new accounts in November 2019 and caps the bonus at £3k on £12,000 of savings, with a £250k property limit outside London and £450k inside it. The LISA takes up to £4k a year and works on properties up to £450k anywhere in the country. Existing Help-to-Buy holders can keep paying in until November 2029, and transferring the balance into a LISA is allowed if your provider supports it. A new First Time Buyer ISA, consulted on in summer 2026, will replace the LISA for new savers once it launches, but LISAs stay open until then.