Guide
Stamp duty on a refurbishment purchase
Stamp duty is the cost most often left out of a quick appraisal, and it is rarely small. On a £200,000 purchase through a company it is £11,500 — enough to turn a workable deal into a bad one. Which of the two answers below is yours depends on who is buying.
Published 18 August 2026 · Updated 5 September 2026
In slices, not all at one rate. Crossing a threshold only affects the money above it, so a price just over a band pays a little more, not a lot more.
The 5% surcharge applies only where the price is £40,000 or more. Below that there is no surcharge at all, for a company or an individual — which matters at the cheap end of the market, where a £35,000 flat and a £45,000 one are taxed on entirely different bases. Our appraisals apply that threshold.
The surcharged rates, always. A company does not get a first-property exemption — it pays the additional-dwelling surcharge on every residential purchase, regardless of whether it already owns anything.
Companies paying more than £500,000 for a dwelling can face a flat 17% charge under the non-natural-person rules. Genuine property rental and development businesses are relieved from it and pay the normal company bands, which is the case our appraisals assume — but if that is not you, take advice.
The company bands
| Portion of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 7% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1.5m | 15% |
| Above £1.5m | 17% |
Worked: a company buys at £200,000
| First £125,000 at 5% | £6,250 |
| Next £75,000 at 7% | £5,250 |
| Stamp duty | £11,500 |
Two answers, depending on what the property will be to you.
An additional property — you already own a home, and this one is an investment: the surcharged rates, the same as a company pays.
Your only or main home — a place you intend to live in while you refurbish it: the standard rates. The difference at £125,000 is £6,250, and it grows from there. That is why the search asks, rather than assuming.
First-time buyer relief also exists. It is not modelled here, because it does not apply to an investment purchase.
The personal bands
| Portion of the price | Additional property | Only or main home |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 5% | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 7% | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 10% | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1.5m | 15% | 10% |
| Above £1.5m | 17% | 12% |
Worked: an individual buys at £200,000
As an additional property
| First £125,000 at 5% | £6,250 |
| Next £75,000 at 7% | £5,250 |
| Stamp duty | £11,500 |
As an only or main home
| First £125,000 at 0% | £0 |
| Next £75,000 at 2% | £1,500 |
| Stamp duty | £1,500 |
Scotland and Wales. These are the England and Northern Ireland rates. Scotland charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax, both with their own bands and their own surcharges. This tool does not model either, so treat its figures for those countries as wrong rather than approximate.
Rates are those in force from 1 April 2025. Stamp duty changes at Budgets — check the current rates before you commit, and take professional advice.