SDLT, LBTT and LTT: the UK's three property taxes
There is no single UK stamp duty. England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax, Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, each with its own bands, reliefs and surcharges.
Three taxes, three tax authorities
Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England and Northern Ireland and is collected by HM Revenue and Customs. Scotland replaced it with Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in 2015, collected by Revenue Scotland. Wales replaced it with Land Transaction Tax in 2018, collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority. Each tax is set by a different government under different legislation, so a change to one has no automatic effect on the others. Northern Ireland is the exception people miss: it is not devolved for this purpose, so a purchase there is taxed under the same rules and the same rate table as a purchase in England.
The bands do not line up
All three taxes are banded, but the boundaries are set independently and none of them match. Tax starts being charged on a standard residential purchase at £125,000 in England and Northern Ireland, £145,000 in Scotland and £225,000 in Wales. The rates above those points differ too, and so does the number of bands. The same purchase price therefore produces three different bills, and the ranking between the regimes changes as the price rises rather than staying fixed. A rule of thumb learned at one price will mislead at another.
Reliefs differ more than the rates do
First-time buyer treatment is where the three regimes diverge most sharply. England and Northern Ireland give a nil-rate band up to £300,000 and a reduced rate above it, but withdraw the relief entirely once the price passes £500,000. Scotland lifts the nil-rate band to £175,000 for first-time buyers, which is worth up to £600, and applies no upper price limit at all. Wales offers no first-time buyer relief of any kind; its higher starting threshold is the policy substitute, so a first-time buyer option on a Welsh calculator describes a relief that does not exist.
The surcharges work on different mechanics
England and Northern Ireland charge additional-property buyers through a separate banded table, and Wales does the same, so the surcharge is applied slice by slice like the main tax. Scotland does not. Its Additional Dwelling Supplement is a flat charge on the whole purchase price, which makes Scottish second homes markedly more expensive than equivalently priced properties elsewhere. There is also a non-resident surcharge, adding 2 percentage points, but it exists only in England and Northern Ireland, so residence status has no bearing on a purchase in Scotland or Wales.
Why everyone still calls it stamp duty
Until devolution the whole UK really did pay one tax, and the habit outlasted the change. Calling all three stamp duty is understandable shorthand, but it is imprecise in a way that costs money: it invites people to apply an English threshold to a Scottish purchase, or to assume a relief they have read about applies where they are buying. The tax that applies is decided by where the property is, not by where the buyer lives or where the mortgage is arranged. A buyer resident in London purchasing in Edinburgh pays LBTT.
Key points
- Three separate taxes: SDLT in England and Northern Ireland, LBTT in Scotland, LTT in Wales.
- Bands, reliefs and surcharge mechanics differ, so the same price gives three different bills.
- The property's location decides which tax applies, not where the buyer lives.
Common questions
I live in England and I am buying in Scotland. Which tax applies?
LBTT, because the property is in Scotland. The tax follows the location of the property, not the buyer's residence or where the solicitor and lender sit.
Is Northern Ireland taxed differently from England?
No. Northern Ireland uses Stamp Duty Land Tax under the same rules and rate table as England. Property taxation was devolved to Scotland and Wales, not Northern Ireland.
Do the three taxes change at the same time?
No. Each is set in a separate budget by a separate government, so they can move in different directions and at different times of the year.
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.