If you buy residential or commercial property in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you are currently required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase price when it exceeds £125,000 for residential property and £150,000 for commercial property. You are always required to pay SDLT on certain qualifying leases.

The rate of tax is tiered, dependent on the purchase price, with the marginal rate changing dependent on the total value of the purchase. Tax rates start at 1% and rise incrementally.

Click here to use the HMRC Stamp Duty Calculator.

Given the large sums of money now required to be paid when most people now buy a new home, the Government recently introduced relief for first time buyers purchasing a home on or after 22 November 2017. In order to benefit from this relief you, or anyone else you are buying with, must be a first time buyer.

Qualifying first time buyers have no stamp duty to pay on the first £300,000 and 5% payable on the remaining price up to £500,000. If the value of the property exceeds £500,000 then all SDLT is payable in the usual way.

If you are not a first time buyer then the standard SDLT rates continue to apply as before. Namely;

In addition to first time buyer’s relief, there are other reliefs available to other specific groups including buyers of multiple dwellings, housebuilders taking homes in part exchange, compulsory purchases, charities, right to buy transactions, intercompany transactions, disposal of land that forms part of planning obligations and other reliefs.

Click here to see the First Time buyers Relief.

• What is Stamp Duty and How Much Will it Cost?