First-time buyer stamp duty relief 2025/26
How much you actually save in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, what counts as a first-time buyer, and the £625,000 cliff edge most buyers miss.
Quick answer
First-time buyers in England and NI pay no SDLT on the first £300,000 and a reduced 5% rate from £300,000 to £500,000. Above £625,000 the relief is withdrawn entirely. In Scotland the LBTT nil-rate band rises from £145,000 to £175,000 for first-time buyers. Wales offers no first-time buyer relief at all. All buyers in a joint purchase must qualify, and the test is global: any prior property ownership anywhere in the world disqualifies you.
Savings table by purchase price
How much first-time buyer relief actually saves you in England and Scotland at sample purchase prices. Wales is excluded because no first-time relief exists there.
| Price | Eng standard | Eng FTB | Eng saving | Scot saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £1,500 | £0 | £1,500 | £600 |
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £0 | £2,500 | £600 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £0 | £5,000 | £600 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £2,500 | £5,000 | £600 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £5,000 | £5,000 | £600 |
| £450,000 | £12,500 | £7,500 | £5,000 | £600 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 | £5,000 | £600 |
| £600,000 | £20,000 | £15,000 | £5,000 | £600 |
| £625,000 | £21,250 | £16,250 | £5,000 | £600 |
Rates effective 1 April 2025. Use the stamp duty calculator for an exact figure at your specific price.
Who counts as a first-time buyer
The definition is stricter than people expect. To claim first-time buyer relief, you and every other buyer on the purchase must meet all of these:
- Never owned a residential property anywhere in the world. This includes leasehold flats, shared ownership shares, inherited shares, and properties held in trust where you were a named beneficiary.
- Buying as a main residence. Buy-to-let purchases do not qualify even on the first ever property bought by someone who has never owned before.
- Buying with a UK address. Non-UK residents can claim the relief if they meet the other criteria, but a separate 2% non-resident surcharge applies on top in England and NI.
- Purchase price within the relief cap. In England and NI this is £625,000. Above that price the relief vanishes completely.
The £625,000 cliff edge
First-time buyer relief in England and NI is binary above £500,000: you either qualify (paying tax only on the slice from £300,000 to £500,000 plus standard rates above £500,000) or you do not (paying standard rates on the entire price).
The crossover point is £625,000. A first-time buyer at £625,000 pays £16,250. A first-time buyer at £625,001 pays £21,250, which is around £11,000 more for one extra pound on the purchase price.
If you are negotiating near the threshold, this cliff is worth hard bargaining over. £625,000 is a sensible ceiling to set.
How the relief works mechanically
In England and NI, the relief replaces the first two bands of the standard SDLT schedule with one wider nil-rate band up to £300,000 and a single 5% band from £300,000 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the standard rates apply normally.
Worked example, first-time buyer at £450,000 in England:
- £0 to £300,000 at 0% = £0
- £300,000 to £450,000 at 5% = £7,500
- Total: £7,500
The same purchase by a standard buyer would owe £10,000, so the relief saves £2,500.
In Scotland the relief is simpler: the nil-rate band lifts from £145,000 to £175,000. Everything above £175,000 is taxed at the normal LBTT rates.
Frequently asked questions
Who counts as a first-time buyer for stamp duty?▾
All buyers in the transaction must be first-time buyers, and the definition is global. You qualify if you have never owned (alone or jointly) a residential property anywhere in the world. Inheriting a share of a property counts. Owning a buy-to-let counts. The relief is on a per-purchase, per-person basis: if you are buying jointly with a partner who has previously owned a home, neither of you gets the relief.
How much does first-time buyer relief save me in England or NI?▾
On a purchase of £300,000, full relief means you pay nothing (saving £5,000 against the standard bill). On a £450,000 purchase you pay £7,500 instead of £12,500 (a saving of £5,000). Above £625,000 the relief is withdrawn completely and standard rates apply to the whole price.
Does Wales have first-time buyer relief?▾
No. Wales chose not to introduce a first-time buyer relief when it took over the tax (renaming SDLT to LTT) in 2018. The argument made by the Welsh Government was that the higher nil-rate threshold of £225,000 (compared to £125,000 in England) already covered most first-time purchases without needing a separate relief. In practice this means a Welsh first-time buyer of a £300,000 property pays £4,500 in LTT, while their English counterpart pays nothing.
What about Scotland?▾
Scottish first-time buyers get the LBTT nil-rate band raised from £145,000 to £175,000. Above that they pay LBTT at the same banded rates as anyone else. The relief is more modest than England and NI but still saves £600 against the standard Scottish bill on a typical first-time purchase.
What is the £625,000 cap in England?▾
First-time buyer relief in England and NI is withdrawn entirely if the purchase price is over £625,000. You do not get a tapered amount; you pay the standard rate on the whole price. A first-time buyer paying £624,000 saves around £10,000 against the standard bill, while a first-time buyer paying £626,000 saves nothing. The cliff edge means buyers near the threshold should consider negotiating below £625,000 hard.
Can I claim the relief if I buy with a partner who has owned before?▾
No. Joint purchases require all named buyers to be first-time buyers. If one of you has previously owned a property anywhere in the world, the relief is not available on the joint purchase and the standard rates apply to both of you. Some couples solve this by buying in the first-time buyer's sole name and re-mortgaging or transferring after; this comes with its own complications and tax implications, so take advice before going that route.
Does inheriting a share of a property disqualify me?▾
Yes, under HMRC's definition. If you have ever been a legal or beneficial owner of any residential property, including a share inherited as part of an estate, you do not count as a first-time buyer. The same applies to property held in trust where you are a beneficiary. A property you previously rented (where you were a tenant, not an owner) does not affect your status.
What evidence do I need to claim the relief?▾
Your conveyancer files an SDLT return on completion and ticks the first-time buyer relief box. The relief is self-declared at that point; you are not required to submit supporting documents up front. HMRC reserves the right to challenge later, and the penalties for a false claim are significant (the relief plus interest plus a percentage penalty). If you are unsure whether a past property ownership disqualifies you, get a written opinion from your conveyancer before the return is submitted.
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