Stamp Duty on a Second Home (2026/27)

If you already own a property and you’re buying another one, the tax bill is bigger than most buyers expect. Since 31 October 2024 the additional-property surcharge has been 5 percentage points (up from 3%), and it sits on top of the standard residential SDLT rates that apply to everyone. This guide covers England & Northern Ireland only — Scotland and Wales run their own systems, which we link below.

What counts as a “second home” for SDLT?

The surcharge isn’t just for holiday homes. It applies whenever, at the end of the day you complete, you own more than one residential property and you’re not replacing your only or main residence. In practice it catches:

Buy-to-let purchases, holiday and second homes, properties bought through a limited company or other “non-natural person”, and an additional home bought before you’ve sold your previous main residence. It applies to purchases of £40,000 or more, and there is no nil-rate band for the surcharge itself — it loads onto the very first pound.

The additional-property surcharge: 5% on every band

Standard SDLT is charged progressively, so each rate applies only to the slice of the price that falls within its band — never to the whole purchase. For an additional property you take those same bands and add five points to each one. That turns the standard 0/2/5/10/12% ladder into 5/7/10/15/17%.

Worked example: a £300,000 second home

Say you’re buying a £300,000 buy-to-let or second home. First work out the standard SDLT, then add the surcharge.

Standard SDLT on £300,000:

0% on the first £125,000 = £0; 2% on the next £125,000 (£125,001–£250,000) = £2,500; 5% on the final £50,000 (£250,001–£300,000) = £2,500. Standard total = £5,000.

Add the 5% surcharge across the whole price: 5% of £300,000 = £15,000.

So the total stamp duty on a £300,000 additional property is £5,000 + £15,000 = £20,000 — an effective rate of about 6.67%. The same property as your only home would cost just £5,000 in SDLT, so the surcharge alone is £15,000 of extra cash you’ll need on completion day, on top of your deposit and fees.

Scotland and Wales work differently

SDLT and the 5% surcharge only apply in England and Northern Ireland. Buy in Scotland and you pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax with its own Additional Dwelling Supplement; buy in Wales and you pay Land Transaction Tax with its own higher residential rates. The bands and thresholds are different, so use the right calculator for the right country.

See our guides to stamp duty in Scotland (LBTT) and stamp duty in Wales (LTT).

Can you avoid or reclaim the surcharge?

You generally can’t avoid the surcharge if you’re genuinely buying an additional property — but there are two common situations where it doesn’t bite, or where you can get it back:

Replacing your main residence. If you buy your new main home before you’ve sold your old one, you pay the surcharge up front — but you can claim a refund if you sell the previous main residence within 36 months. First-time buyers never pay the surcharge, because by definition they don’t own another property. Beyond that, the rules around inherited shares, mixed-use property and multiple dwellings are technical, which is exactly where your accountant or conveyancer earns their fee.

How the finance fits in

The surcharge is a cash cost on completion day, so it changes how much you need to raise and how you structure the deal. We don’t advise on tax — we arrange the finance; you confirm the tax — but we see how it plays out every week. If you’re buying an investment property to hold, a buy-to-let mortgage is the usual route. If you need to move fast, buy at auction, or complete before selling another property, a bridging loan can fund the purchase and surcharge now and be repaid once your sale or refinance lands. Buying through a company, or building out a scheme, points to commercial mortgages or development finance instead.