The Non-UK Resident Stamp Duty Surcharge
A surcharge of a fixed number of percentage points is added to every SDLT band for non-UK residents buying in England or Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales do not charge it.
Stamp Duty Land Tax charges non-UK residents more than UK residents on the same purchase. The surcharge adds 2 percentage points to every band, and HM Revenue & Customs applies it on top of all other residential rates rather than instead of them. It exists only in England and Northern Ireland. Neither Scotland nor Wales has an equivalent, so residence status changes nothing under Land and Buildings Transaction Tax or Land Transaction Tax. Residence here is a day count, not a question of nationality, visa or domicile, and a buyer who fails the count at completion can meet it afterwards and reclaim the difference.
It stacks on every band, including the ones charged at nothing
This is the part most calculators miss. The surcharge is added to whichever table already applies, and to every band within it, including zero-rate bands. A non-resident buying an additional dwelling pays it on top of the higher rates. A non-resident first-time buyer keeps the first-time buyer relief but still pays the surcharge on the slice that a UK-resident first-time buyer would pay nothing on. The relief and the surcharge are separate rules and neither cancels the other.
The residence test is a day count
Whether the surcharge applies turns on presence in the UK, measured in days. Broadly, a buyer who has not been present in the UK for at least 183 days in the twelve months before the purchase is treated as non-resident for this tax. Nationality, visa status, domicile and where the money comes from are all irrelevant to the test. The rules also differ from the wider Statutory Residence Test used for income tax, so being resident for one is not automatically being resident for the other. HM Revenue & Customs publishes the full test.
The surcharge can be reclaimed if the day count is later met
A buyer who is non-resident at the time of the purchase but who then spends enough days in the UK within the relevant period can become treated as UK resident for the transaction and reclaim the surcharge from HM Revenue & Customs. The claim has its own deadline, and it is made after the day count is satisfied, not at completion. Joint purchases follow their own rule: where one buyer is non-resident, the surcharge can apply to the whole transaction.
Common questions
Does the surcharge apply in Scotland or Wales?
No. It exists only under Stamp Duty Land Tax, which covers England and Northern Ireland. Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland and Land Transaction Tax in Wales have no non-resident surcharge, so residence status does not change those figures.
Can a non-resident still claim first-time buyer relief?
Yes, if the usual conditions are met. The relief and the surcharge are separate rules. The relief lowers the table that applies, and the surcharge then adds 2 percentage points to every band of it, including the band charged at nothing.
Can the surcharge be refunded?
Yes, where the buyer later meets the UK residence day count within the relevant period. The refund is claimed from HM Revenue & Customs after the count is met, subject to its own time limit. HMRC is the authority on both the test and the claim.
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.