The minimum price rule for additional-property surcharges
In England and Northern Ireland the additional-property surcharge only applies where the price reaches £40,000, and Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement uses the same floor at £40,000. Reach it and the surcharge is charged on the purchase from the first pound.
A floor on the rule, not a tax-free slice
This is the point that catches people out. The minimum figure decides whether the surcharge applies at all. It is not a nil-rate band and it does not carve out a tax-free portion. Once the price reaches the threshold, the surcharge is calculated on the whole chargeable consideration, including the part below it. A buyer who reads the figure as an allowance and expects the first slice to escape will underestimate the bill by a meaningful amount. The main tax and the surcharge are separate calculations, and only the main tax has a genuine nil-rate band.
Exactly at the threshold
The rule applies where the price is the threshold figure or more, so a purchase landing precisely on it is in scope. A purchase a single pound below it is out of scope entirely and no surcharge is due. That makes this another cliff: the difference of one pound in price does not change the surcharge slightly, it switches it on. The step in tax at that point is the surcharge on the entire purchase, which is why very low-value additional purchases are treated so differently either side of the line. There is no tapering or apportionment near the threshold.
What counts towards the figure
The test is applied to the chargeable consideration for the transaction, which is not always the headline price. Buying a share rather than a whole property, buying with others, or buying several properties as part of one arrangement can all change the figure the test is applied to, and linked transactions may be added together. Non-cash consideration and obligations taken on as part of the deal can count as well. Because the consequence of crossing the line is a charge on the entire purchase, the exact figure matters more here than almost anywhere else. Your conveyancer establishes it.
How the other rules interact
Wales operates its own minimum consideration rule for higher-rate purchases, so the shape is similar there, but the Welsh figures and conditions are set separately by the Welsh Revenue Authority and should be confirmed against its guidance. The non-resident surcharge in England and Northern Ireland has no equivalent minimum: it applies on top of the rates that already apply, from the first pound. Companies buying residential property are treated differently again, with no minimum threshold before the higher rates apply. Those cases are covered on their own pages.
Key points
- The minimum figure decides whether a surcharge applies at all, it is not a nil-rate band.
- At the threshold the surcharge applies from the first pound; a pound below and it does not apply.
- Chargeable consideration, not the asking price, is what the test is applied to.
Common questions
Is the first part of an additional-property purchase surcharge-free?
No. Once the price reaches the threshold, the surcharge is charged on the whole chargeable consideration. The threshold is a switch, not an allowance.
Does buying a share of a property count?
It can. The test looks at the chargeable consideration for the transaction, and shares, joint purchases and linked transactions can bring a deal into scope.
Does the same threshold apply in Scotland?
Scotland applies a minimum consideration rule for the Additional Dwelling Supplement at £40,000, and once reached the supplement is charged on the entire price.
Work out your own figure
SDLT on a £300,000 property in England & Northern Ireland. That is an effective rate of 1.7%.
Written by StampBand Editorial, published by Inventum. Rates verified 9 August 2026 against HM Revenue & Customs, Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority.