Stamp Duty on a £500,000 Property: 2025–26 Figures for Every Buyer Type
In short
Stamp duty on a £500,000 property in England is £15,000 for a standard buyer, £10,000 for an eligible first-time buyer and £40,000 for a buy-to-let or second home. Scotland LBTT is £23,350 and Wales LTT is £18,000. This is the upper limit for first-time buyer relief, so £1 above this price removes the relief, before legal, mortgage or survey costs.
A £500,000 purchase is a critical edge case for first-time buyers in England. Relief is still available at this exact price, but it disappears above the limit, so the page needs to show both the bill and the threshold risk clearly.
Stamp duty at a glance
This is the last price where first-time buyer relief is available; above it, standard SDLT applies.
| Buyer Type | SDLT (England) | LBTT (Scotland) | LTT (Wales) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard buyer | £15,000 | £23,350 | £18,000 |
| First-time buyer | £10,000 | Standard LBTT shown: £23,350 | Standard LTT shown: £18,000 |
| Additional dwelling | £40,000 (standard + 5%) | Standard LBTT shown: £23,350 | Standard LTT shown: £18,000 |
| Effective rate (standard) | 3.00% | 4.67% | 3.60% |
How Stamp Duty Is Calculated on £500,000
For England and Northern Ireland, the standard SDLT bill on £500,000 is £15,000 because SDLT is calculated in slices, not by applying one rate to the whole price. The first £125,000 is taxed at 0%, the next slice to £250,000 at 2%, and the amount above £250,000 at 5% until the £925,000 threshold. The exact standard SDLT effective rate at this price is 3.00%.
| Band | Taxable Amount | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0–£125,000 | £125,000 | 0% | £0 |
| £125,001–£250,000 | £125,000 | 2% | £2,500 |
| £250,001–£925,000 | £250,000 | 5% | £12,500 |
| Total SDLT | £15,000 |
First-Time Buyer Stamp Duty on £500,000
An eligible first-time buyer pays £10,000 SDLT on a £500,000 purchase. The first £300,000 is taxed at 0%, and the £200,000 slice above that is taxed at 5%. This is the upper limit of first-time buyer relief: at any price above £500,000, the buyer becomes ineligible and standard SDLT applies.
Threshold callout: £500,000 is the final eligible price for first-time buyer relief; above this, the relief ends.
Stamp Duty on £500,000 Buy-to-Let or Second Home
For an additional dwelling in England, this page calculates SDLT as standard SDLT plus a 5% surcharge on the full purchase price. On £500,000, the surcharge is £25,000, so the total additional-dwelling SDLT is £40,000. The effective England rate for this scenario is 8.00%.
How Does £500,000 Compare Across England, Scotland and Wales?
The same £500,000 purchase produces different standard tax bills across the UK because SDLT, LBTT and LTT use different band thresholds. At this price, England standard SDLT is £15,000, Scotland LBTT is £23,350, and Wales LTT is £18,000.
| Jurisdiction | Tax | Standard Tax Due | Effective Rate | Difference vs England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England & Northern Ireland | SDLT | £15,000 | 3.00% | Baseline |
| Scotland | LBTT | £23,350 | 4.67% | £8,350 more than England |
| Wales | LTT | £18,000 | 3.60% | £3,000 more than England |
Properties Near This Price
Buyers comparing properties around £500,000 should check the neighbouring price points because one extra bid can move part of the price into a higher marginal band. The links below pre-fill the calculator for nearby values and show the standard England SDLT figure.
Adjust for your exact situation — add a different price, switch to Scotland or Wales, or check buy-to-let costs.
Open Full Calculator →Frequently Asked Questions
Stamp duty on a £500,000 house in England is £15,000 for a standard buyer. An eligible first-time buyer pays £10,000, and a buy-to-let or second home buyer pays £40,000 using the additional-dwelling calculation in this page.
Eligible first-time buyers pay £10,000 on a £500,000 purchase and save £5,000 compared with standard SDLT.
Using the additional-dwelling calculation in this page, stamp duty on a £500,000 second home in England is £40,000. That is the standard SDLT of £15,000 plus a 5% surcharge on the full purchase price, equal to £25,000.
No. On a £500,000 property, standard LBTT in Scotland is £23,350 and standard LTT in Wales is £18,000, compared with standard SDLT of £15,000 in England and Northern Ireland.
For England and Northern Ireland, SDLT is normally filed and paid within 14 days of the effective transaction date, usually completion. In practice, the buyer’s solicitor or conveyancer usually files the return and pays the tax from completion funds.