First-Time Buyer Stamp Duty Checklist UK (2026/27)
First-time buyer stamp duty 2026/27: SDLT 0% to £300k, 5% to £500k, no relief above. Scotland LBTT £175k nil band, Wales LTT no FTB relief. 8-step checklist.
1. Confirm your first-time buyer status
To count as a first-time buyer for SDLT you must never have acquired a major interest in a dwelling, alone or with others, anywhere in the world, whatever its value. HMRC's manual says this includes acquisitions by inheritance or gift, and a part share counts. A lease with less than 21 years to run does not count (SDLTM29845). Trusts depend on the type: being the beneficiary of a bare trust that acquired a dwelling disqualifies you, but being a beneficiary of a discretionary or interest in possession settlement does not by itself (SDLTM29861). You must also intend to live in the property as your only or main residence.
Joint purchases: every purchaser must be a first-time buyer. If one has ever owned a home, the whole transaction pays standard rates. Where only one spouse or civil partner buys, HMRC does not look at the other's past ownership for the relief, but if the other still owns a home the purchase can be a higher rates transaction, and then the relief is not available.
How to action it: before any offer is accepted, every named buyer should confirm they have never held a major interest in a dwelling. Use the UK Stamp Duty calculator to compare the relief figure against the standard-rate figure.
2. Stay under £500,000 if possible - the FTB cliff edge
The relief is a cliff, not a taper. At £500,000 or less you get the reduced rates; above it you pay standard SDLT on the whole price. At £500,000 a first-time buyer pays £10,000; at £500,001 the bill is £15,000, so the extra £1 costs £5,000. At £550,000 a first-time buyer pays £17,500, 1.75 times the figure at £500,000 on a price 10% higher.
How to action it: if your offer would go just over £500,000, factor the £5,000 jump into the negotiation. Use the stamp duty calculator to see the first-time buyer and standard figures side by side.
3. Check Scotland and Wales rules if buying outside England
Property purchase tax is devolved: England and Northern Ireland use SDLT (HMRC), Scotland uses LBTT (Revenue Scotland), Wales uses LTT (Welsh Revenue Authority).
Scotland LBTT first-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000, which Revenue Scotland says reduces the tax by up to £600. Above £175,000 first-time buyers pay the same rates as other buyers: 2% to £250,000, 5% to £325,000, 10% to £750,000 and 12% above (Revenue Scotland).
Wales LTT has no separate first-time buyer relief. The main residential rates are 0% to £225,000, then 6% to £400,000, 7.5% to £750,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above (Welsh Government).
How to action it: use the Scotland LBTT calculator if buying in Scotland and the Wales LTT calculator if buying in Wales. The comparison table below shows the three regimes on the same price.
4. Consider a Lifetime ISA for the 25% government bonus
You can pay up to £4,000 a year into a Lifetime ISA until you are 50, and it counts towards the £20,000 overall ISA allowance. The government adds a 25% bonus, up to £1,000 a year. You must be 18 or over but under 40 to open one, and you can hold cash, stocks and shares or both (gov.uk Lifetime ISA).
You can use the money towards a first home without a charge if the property costs £450,000 or less, you buy at least 12 months after your first payment in, you use a conveyancer or solicitor, and you buy with a mortgage. If you buy with someone else, each of you can use your own Lifetime ISA if you are both first-time buyers. The £450,000 limit is lower than the SDLT relief cap of £500,000: a buyer at £475,000 can still get SDLT relief but cannot use a Lifetime ISA without the 25% withdrawal charge.
How to action it: open the account before 40 and at least 12 months before you expect to buy. See the UK ISA allowance explainer for how the Lifetime ISA fits in the overall allowance.
5. Use Help to Buy ISA balances if still held
You can no longer open a Help to Buy ISA. Existing savers can pay in up to £200 a month until November 2029 and claim the 25% bonus (up to £3,000) until November 2030. The home must cost up to £250,000, or £450,000 in London, be the only home you own and be where you intend to live; your solicitor or conveyancer applies for the bonus (gov.uk Help to Buy ISA).
If you hold both a Help to Buy ISA and a Lifetime ISA, you can only use the government bonus from one of them to buy your first home. You can transfer money from a Help to Buy ISA into a Lifetime ISA; moving money the other way triggers the 25% withdrawal charge.
How to action it: check your Help to Buy ISA balance and the purchase-price limit for your area, and ask your provider whether a transfer to a Lifetime ISA would give you a larger bonus overall.
6. Budget for the full transaction cost, not just SDLT
SDLT is only one of the costs at completion. Get quotes for each of these before you commit:
- Conveyancing: solicitor or licensed conveyancer fees, which are usually higher for leasehold and new-build purchases.
- Survey: a RICS Level 1, 2 or 3 survey depending on the property's age and condition. The lender's valuation is separate and is not a survey.
- Mortgage fees: product (arrangement) fees, which vary widely between deals, plus any broker fee.
- Searches: local authority, water and drainage, and environmental searches, ordered by your conveyancer.
- HM Land Registry fee for registering the purchase, set on a scale by price.
- Removals and moving-in costs.
On a £400,000 first-time purchase the SDLT is £5,000, and the costs above come on top.
How to action it: ask for fixed-fee quotes from more than one conveyancer, and check the SDLT figure in the stamp duty calculator.
7. Test mortgage affordability
Lenders cap borrowing as a multiple of gross income and also assess your monthly outgoings. As an illustration only, at 4.5 times income a single income of £45,000 supports a loan of £202,500 and a joint income of £80,000 supports £360,000; with a 10% deposit those correspond to purchase prices of about £225,000 and £400,000. Actual multiples vary by lender and applicant.
The affordability assessment looks at committed outgoings as well as income: salary-sacrifice deductions, credit card balances, car finance, student loan repayments, dependants and regular bills can all reduce what a lender will offer.
How to action it: use the mortgage affordability calculator to estimate borrowing before house-hunting, and get a decision in principle from a lender or broker before making offers.
8. Time the purchase against the SDLT 14-day deadline
SDLT does not follow the 5 April tax year. You must send an SDLT return to HMRC and pay the tax within 14 days of completion, or you may be charged penalties and interest (gov.uk SDLT). In practice your conveyancer files the return and pays the tax as part of completion, using funds you transfer to them.
The rates that apply are those in force at the effective date, which is usually completion. When rates change, the legislation sometimes includes transitional rules for contracts exchanged before the announcement, so if a change is announced between exchange and completion, ask your conveyancer how it applies to you.
How to action it: agree a target completion date with your conveyancer and confirm they will file the return within 14 days.
Worked SDLT examples (2026/27)
All figures computed by the SalaryTax SDLT engine using the bands in force from 1 April 2025. England and Northern Ireland only - Scotland and Wales follow below.
| Purchase price | FTB status | SDLT due | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | First-time buyer | £0 | Entirely within the £300,000 nil-rate band. |
| £400,000 | First-time buyer | £5,000 | £100,000 of price in the 5% band above £300,000. |
| £500,000 | First-time buyer | £10,000 | At the relief cap - the most a first-time buyer can pay with relief. |
| £550,000 | FTB - relief not available | £17,500 | Above the £500,000 cap - standard rates on the whole price. |
| £400,000 | Mover (no FTB relief) | £10,000 | Standard residential rates - compare to the £400,000 first-time buyer figure. |
Every figure above is generated at build time by the site's SDLT engine. Bands verified against gov.uk SDLT residential rates.
Cross-country comparison: £300,000 first-time buyer
Same buyer, same price, three regimes.
| Region | Tax | Tax due on £300k FTB | FTB relief? |
|---|---|---|---|
| England + NI | SDLT | £0 | Yes - 0% to £300,000, 5% to £500,000. |
| Scotland | LBTT | £4,000 | Yes - £175,000 nil-rate band (worth up to £600). |
| Wales | LTT | £4,500 | No - £225,000 nil-rate band for all buyers. |
At £300,000 a first-time buyer pays £0 in England, £4,000 in Scotland and £4,500 in Wales. Do not assume English figures apply across the UK.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Can my spouse claim first-time buyer relief if I previously owned a home?
Not on a joint purchase: every purchaser must be a first-time buyer. If only the first-time buyer spouse buys, HMRC does not look at the non-purchasing spouse's past ownership for the relief (SDLTM29845). But spouses are treated together for the higher rates for additional dwellings, so if the other spouse still owns a home that is not being replaced, the purchase is a higher rates transaction and first-time buyer relief cannot apply.
Does inheriting a property disqualify me from first-time buyer relief?
Yes. A first-time buyer must never have acquired a major interest in a dwelling anywhere in the world, alone or with others, whatever its value, and HMRC says this includes acquisitions by inheritance or gift (SDLTM29845). A part share counts. A lease with less than 21 years to run does not. Being a beneficiary of a discretionary or interest in possession settlement does not by itself disqualify you (SDLTM29861), but being the beneficiary of a bare trust that acquired a dwelling does.
I am a first-time buyer but my partner is not - can we still claim relief?
Not if you buy jointly: if any purchaser is not a first-time buyer, no relief is available. If you buy alone, only your own history counts (subject to the higher-rates point for a spouse who still owns a home). Whether to buy alone is a legal and financial decision as well as a tax one. From £300,000 up to the £500,000 cap the relief saves £5,000 compared with standard rates.
Does buying off-plan or a new-build still count for first-time buyer relief?
Yes, on the same terms as any other dwelling you intend to occupy as your only or main residence: no SDLT up to £300,000, 5% on the portion up to £500,000. SDLT is charged by reference to the effective date, which is usually completion, and the return and payment are due within 14 days of completion.
What is the £500,001 cliff effect for first-time buyer SDLT?
Relief is not available at all once the price exceeds £500,000 - there is no taper. At £500,000 a first-time buyer pays £10,000. At £500,001 the standard rates apply to the whole price, giving £15,000, so the extra £1 of price costs £5,000 more SDLT.
What is the Lifetime ISA penalty if I use it for a non-qualifying purchase?
A withdrawal other than for a qualifying first home (price up to £450,000), at 60 or over, or with a terminal illness is charged 25% of the amount withdrawn. Because the charge applies to the bonus as well, you get back less than you paid in: £4,000 saved plus a £1,000 bonus makes £5,000, and a 25% charge of £1,250 leaves £3,750, ignoring growth.