Two rounds of stamp duty changes have reshaped the SDLT landscape in England and Northern Ireland. On 31 October 2024, the Autumn Budget increased the additional dwelling surcharge from 3% to 5% and raised the company flat rate from 15% to 17%. On 1 April 2025, the temporary nil-rate thresholds expired: the standard band reverted from £250,000 to £125,000; the first-time buyer threshold dropped from £425,000 to £300,000, and the maximum purchase price for first-time buyer relief fell from £625,000 to £500,000. No further changes have been announced for 2026, so these rates remain in force. Non-residential and commercial SDLT rates are unchanged.
Key Stamp Duty Land Tax Changes
Timeline: What Changed in SDLT and When
The stamp duty changes arrived in two waves, each enacted through separate legislation. Understanding which change took effect on which date is essential for determining the correct SDLT liability on any given transaction.
Date
What Changed
Legislative Source
31 Oct 2024 | Additional dwelling surcharge increased from 3% to 5% | Section 51 of Finance Act 2025, (amending Schedule 4ZA, Finance Act 2003) |
31 Oct 2024 | Company flat rate on residential property over £500,000 increased from 15% to 17% | Section 53 of Finance Act 2025, (amending Schedule 4A, para 3, Finance Act 2003) |
1 Apr 2025 | Standard residential nil-rate band reverted from £250,000 to £125,000 | Expiry of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Act 2023, s.1(2) |
1 Apr 2025 | First-time buyer (FTB) nil-rate threshold reverted from £425,000 to £300,000 | Expiry of SDLT (Temporary Relief) Act 2023, s.1(5)(b) (modifying Schedule 6ZA, Finance Act 2003) |
1 Apr 2025 | Maximum purchase price for FTB relief reverted from £625,000 to £500,000 | Expiry of SDLT (Temporary Relief) Act 2023, s.1(5)(a) (modifying para 1(3) of Schedule 6ZA) |
2026 | No further changes announced | Rates from 1 April 2025 remain in force |
How Did Standard Residential Rates Change on 1 April 2025?
The Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Act 2023 had temporarily doubled the standard nil-rate band from £125,000 to £250,000 for transactions with an effective date between 23 September 2022 and 31 March 2025. That Act amended Table A of Section 55(1B) of the Finance Act 2003 (the “Act”), which is the main charging provision for residential SDLT. When the temporary period expired on 31 March 2025, the original Table A rates automatically reinstated.
The practical impact is that any buyer completing on or after 1 April 2025 now pays 2% SDLT on the portion of the purchase price between £125,001 and £250,000; a band that was previously tax-free. On a £250,000 property, this adds £2,500 to the SDLT bill. On a £400,000 property, the total SDLT has increased from £7,500 to £10,000.
The current standard residential rates are:
Purchase Price Band
SDLT Rate
Up to £125,000 | 0% |
£125,001 – £250,000 | 2% |
£250,001 – £925,000 | 5% |
£925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% |
Above £1,500,000 | 12% |
These rates apply to anyone purchasing a single residential property as their only home who does not qualify for first-time buyer relief.
How Did First-Time Buyer Relief Change?
First-time buyer relief, introduced by Section 57B and Schedule 6ZA of the Act, provides reduced SDLT rates for qualifying purchasers. The Temporary Relief Act 2023 had temporarily increased the nil-rate threshold from £300,000 to £425,000 and raised the maximum eligible purchase price from £500,000 to £625,000. Both modifications expired on 31 March 2025. This stamp duty change means a first-time buyer at £400,000 now pays £5,000 where they previously paid nothing — the biggest single impact of the April 2025 reforms
The side-by-side comparison shows the scale of the change:
Detail
Temporary (to 31 Mar 2025)
Current (from 1 Apr 2025)
Nil-rate threshold | £425,000 | £300,000 |
Rate above threshold | 5% | 5% |
Max purchase price for relief | £625,000 | £500,000 |
Max SDLT saving vs standard rates | £11,250 | £5,000 |
The impact is significant. A first-time buyer purchasing at £400,000 paid £0 SDLT under the temporary thresholds. Under the current rules, they pay £5,000. A first-time buyer at £525,000 previously paid £5,000 and qualified for the relief; now they do not qualify at all because the purchase exceeds £500,000 and must pay £16,250 at the standard residential rates instead.
Eligibility remains unchanged: every buyer on the transaction must never have owned a freehold or leasehold residential property anywhere in the world, and the property must be intended as their main residence. If you are buying jointly with someone who has previously owned property, the relief is lost entirely.
How Did the Additional Dwelling Surcharge Increase?
The additional dwelling surcharge, governed by Schedule 4ZA of the Act, applies when a buyer already owns one or more residential properties worth £40,000 or more at the point of completion and is purchasing . On 31 October 2024, the Autumn Budget increased this surcharge from 3% to 5%, enacted by section 51 of the Finance Act 2025.
The surcharge is added to the standard rate at every band, resulting in the following combined rates:
Purchase Price Band
Standard Rate
Old Surcharge (+3%)
New Surcharge (+5%)
Up to £125,000 | 0% | 3% | 5% |
£125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | 5% | 7% |
£250,001 – £925,000 | 5% | 8% | 10% |
£925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% | 13% | 15% |
Above £1,500,000 | 12% | 15% | 17% |
On a £500,000 second home, the combined surcharge increase and nil-rate band reversion mean the total SDLT has risen from £27,500 (under the old 3% surcharge with the £250,000 nil-rate band) to £40,000 an increase of £12,500 on the same property.
For strategies to reduce this charge, see our guide to How to reduce the higher SDLT rates.
How Did Company Purchase Rates Change?
Companies purchasing residential property face different rules depending on the property’s value. Section 53 of the Finance Act 2025 amended Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4A to the Act, increasing the flat rate for companies (and other “non-natural persons”) acquiring residential property above £500,000 from 15% to 17%, effective from 31 October 2024.
For properties priced above £500,000, the 17% flat rate applies to the entire purchase price. A company buying a £750,000 home would therefore pay £127,500. However, this punitive rate does not apply if the property is acquired for a qualifying purpose: a genuine rental business, a property development trade, or a property trading business. Where one of these reliefs applies, the company instead pays the standard residential rates plus the 5% additional dwelling surcharge i.e. the same rates an individual second-home buyer would pay. On the same £750,000 property, this would be approximately £65,000 rather than £127,500.
For properties priced at £500,000 or below, the 17% flat rate never applies. Companies pay the standard residential rates plus the 5% surcharge.
Did Commercial and Non-Residential Rates Change?
No. None of the 2024 or 2025 changes affected non-residential or mixed-use SDLT rates. Commercial property purchases whether offices, retail units, warehouses, agricultural land, and mixed-use buildings continue to be assessed under the non-residential rate table in Table B of section 55(1B) of the Act.
The non-residential rates remain:
Purchase Price Band
SDLT Rate
Up to £150,000 | 0% |
£150,001 – £250,000 | 2% |
Above £250,000 | 5% |
Crucially, the 5% additional dwelling surcharge does not apply to non-residential or mixed-use transactions. This is why the classification of a property as mixed-use can dramatically reduce the SDLT payable.
Transitional Rules: Contracts exchanged before the Stamp Duty Changes
Yes. Both sets of changes include transitional provisions to protect buyers who had already exchanged contracts before the effective date of the transaction.
For the 31 October 2024 surcharge increase i.e. 3% to 5%, if you exchanged contracts before 31 October 2024 and completed on or after that date, the old 3% surcharge applies provided there has been no variation of the contract, no assignment of rights, and no exercise of an option on or after 31 October 2024. These transitional rules are set out in Section 50 of the Finance Act 2025.
For the 1 April 2025 threshold reversions, the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Act 2023, as amended by section 52 of the Finance Act 2025, provides similar transitional protection. If you exchanged contracts before 31 October 2024 and complete on or after 1 April 2025, the temporary (higher) nil-rate thresholds can still apply, again provided there has been no variation, assignment, or exercise of option on or after 31 October 2024.
These rules are strict and narrowly drawn. If you exchanged before the relevant date but varied the contract after it, the transitional protection is lost. Legal advice should be sought if your transaction spans either of these cut-off dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
No further SDLT changes have been announced for 2026. The rates that took effect from 1 April 2025 remain in force. Any future changes would typically be announced through a Budget statement or fiscal event.
If you exchanged before 31 October 2024 and there has been no variation, assignment, or exercise of option since that date, the transitional rules allow the old temporary thresholds to apply. This must be confirmed with a tax advisor as the conditions are strictly drawn.
Yes. The surcharges stack. A non-UK resident buying an additional residential property pays the standard rate plus 5% (additional dwelling) plus 2% (non-resident.
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