How much stamp duty will I pay? The bands explained in 3 steps
SDLT is charged in bands (like income tax): you pay each rate only on the slice within that band. Here’s the three-step method and a tiny worked example.
The short answer
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland is charged in bands. That means you don’t pay one rate on the whole price — you pay different rates on different slices.
If you can remember one thing: only the part of the price inside a band is taxed at that band’s rate.
The 3 steps
- Find the current SDLT bands on GOV.UK.
- Split your purchase price into “slices” that fall into each band.
- Apply the rate to each slice, then add them up.
A tiny example
Example (illustrative main-home purchase, England/NI):
- Purchase price: £300,000
Using the GOV.UK bands at the time of writing, the first slice up to the 0% threshold is taxed at 0%, then the slice above that threshold is taxed at the next rate.
If the 0% threshold is £250,000 and the next band is 5%, then the tax on £300,000 is:
- £0 on the first £250,000
- 5% on the remaining £50,000 = £2,500
Always confirm with the official calculator for your circumstances (higher rates, first-time buyer relief, and other rules can change the result).
Helpful links
- Related calculator: /residential-stamp-duty-calculator/
- Full guide: /guides/sdlt-rates-and-bands/
- Full guide: /guides/first-time-buyer-stamp-duty-relief-explained/
- Glossary: /glossary/sdlt/