How much stamp duty will first-time buyers pay in 2025?

First-time buyers qualify for a reduced rate of stamp duty, with some not having to pay the tax at all.

Stamp duty is the tax you pay when you buy a property or a parcel of land in England or Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have their own (similar) taxes.

Only buyers pay stamp duty, not sellers.

You pay stamp duty on increasing portions of a property’s price tag. So, the more expensive the property, the more stamp duty you’re likely to pay.

Yes, first-time buyers are required to pay stamp duty. That said, they can claim a discount. And in some cases, they might not pay any stamp duty at all. It depends on the price of the property they buy. You can find out more below.

All buyers are currently benefitting from a 'stamp duty holiday'. This means that home movers don’t pay any stamp duty on the first £250,000 of a property’s purchase price - and this threshold rises to £425,000 for first-time buyers (if the property is worth less than £625,000). 

But as of 1 April, 2025, the thresholds at which the tax kicks in will revert back to £125,000 for regular buyers - and to £300,000 for first-time buyers. 

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Regular buyers start to pay stamp duty on property worth more than £250,000. But first-time buyers can claim a discount, which means they only start to pay the tax once the property hits the £425,000 mark.

• If the property costs less than £425,000? Good news, first-time buyers don’t pay any stamp duty.

• If the home is worth less than £625,000, first-time buyers don’t pay any stamp duty on the first £425,000 of the purchase price. They then pay 5% stamp duty on the portion over £425,001.

• But if the home costs more than £625,000, all stamp duty exemption privileges are removed. And first-time buyers pay regular stamp duty rates just like everybody else.

Let’s use an example to see how this works.

If you’re a first-time buyer who purchases a property for £500,000, the stamp duty breakdown would look like this:

0% on the first £425,000 = 0%

5% on the last £75,000 = £3,750

The total stamp duty bill would be £3,750

• If the home costs less than £300,000, no stamp duty will be due.

• If the home is worth less than £500,000, first-time buyers won’t pay any stamp duty on the first £300,000 of the purchase price. They’ll then pay 5% stamp duty on the portion over £300,001.

• But if they buy a home for more than £500,000, first-time buyers will pay regular stamp duty rates.

So from April 1 onwards, the stamp duty calculation for a home costing £500,000 would look like this:

0% on the first £300,000 = 0%

5% on the remaining £200,000 = £10,000

The total stamp duty bill would be £10,000

At the moment, regular buyers - in other words, people who sell one property and go on to buy another - don’t pay any stamp duty on the first £250,000 of a property. We also call them home movers.

Let’s use another example. If you bought a property for £295,000, the stamp duty would be calculated as:

0% on the first £250,000 = 0%

5% on the last £45,000 = £2,250

The total stamp duty bill would be £2,250

Just like first-time buyers, regular buyers are also set to see their tax-free threshold drop this year. Here’s what this will look like for them from 1 April, 2025.

So, if you're a home mover buying a property for £295,000 on or after April 1, the stamp duty breakdown would be:

0% on the first £125,000 = 0%

2% on the second £125,000 = £2,500

5% on the last £45,000 = £2,250

The total stamp duty bill would be £4,750

The definition of a first-time buyer for the stamp duty exemption is quite strict.

In order to qualify, you can never previously have owned a property or had an interest in one, either in the UK or abroad. You also need to use the property you buy as your main home.

If you buy with someone else, they too will have to meet the first-time buyer criteria.

Yes, buyers who purchase an additional property, such as a second home, usually have to pay 5% on top of regular stamp duty rates.

They’re not the only buyers who typically have to pay additional stamp duty. Non-UK residents who buy a residential property in England or Northern Ireland also pay a (separate) surcharge - of 2%.

Buyers have to pay stamp duty within 14 days of the seller legally handing ownership to them.

Usually, this part of the process is handled by the solicitor or conveyancer. They’ll send the stamp duty land tax return to HM Revenue & Customs on the day of completion.

Here’s more information on how to file stamp duty land tax returns to HMRC.

Buyers may be able to pay stamp duty in stages if they buy a shared ownership property. 

But generally-speaking, buyers pay stamp duty in a one-off lump sum. 

If buyers purchase a stake in a home through a Shared Ownership scheme, they may have to fork out stamp duty. There are normally two payment options available:

1. They make a one-off payment based on the total market value of the property.

2. They pay in stages.

If they opt to pay stamp duty in stages, they pay anything that’s due on the first sale amount. But then they don’t make any further payments until they own more than an 80% stake in the property.

Find out more about paying stamp duty for Shared Ownership properties at the government’s website.

Find out more about Shared Ownership with our guide.

If a buyer already owns part of a Shared Ownership property, they typically won’t be considered a first-time buyer. That means any further shares they buy will be subject to standard stamp duty rates.

That said, there are exceptions, which you can read more about in stamp duty expert John Shallcross's article.

Scotland and Wales have their own versions of stamp duty.

In Scotland, the tax is called the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. 

In Wales, it’s called a Land Transaction Tax.

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