Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax you pay to HM Revenue & Customs when you buy property or land in England or Northern Ireland over a certain price. It's paid on completion, on top of the purchase price, and it can run into thousands of pounds — which makes it one of the first sums any Northumberland buyer should do, well before they start viewing.

The rates below are the ones that have applied since April 2025 and remain unchanged into 2026. Here's what they mean in practice for first-time buyers, movers, landlords and overseas buyers.

The standard rates for 2026

For anyone buying a single home to live in, SDLT is charged in bands — you only pay the higher rate on the portion of the price that falls within each band, not on the whole amount:

  • £0 – £125,000: 0%
  • £125,001 – £250,000: 2%
  • £250,001 – £925,000: 5%
  • £925,001 – £1.5 million: 10%
  • Above £1.5 million: 12%

Take a £280,000 example purchase — a realistic price point for plenty of Northumberland family homes. A home mover (not a first-time buyer, not buying an additional property) would pay 0% on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500), and 5% on the remaining £30,000 (£1,500) — a total bill of £4,000.

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First-time buyers: a bigger break, but a lower ceiling than before

First-time buyers get their own, more generous nil-rate band — but it's worth knowing it was reduced in April 2025, from £425,000 down to £300,000:

  • £0 – £300,000: 0%
  • £300,001 – £500,000: 5%
  • Above £500,000: no relief — standard rates apply to the full price instead.

On that same £280,000 example purchase, a genuine first-time buyer would pay £0 in stamp duty, against the £4,000 a home mover would owe on an identical property. That gap is exactly why it's worth confirming first-time buyer status carefully before exchange — it's the single biggest saving most buyers will ever get on a purchase.

The same £280,000 home costs a first-time buyer nothing in stamp duty, and a home mover £4,000. Status matters as much as price.

Landlords and second-home buyers: the extra 5%

Buying an additional residential property — a buy-to-let, a second home, or simply owning another property anywhere in the world at the point of completion — adds a flat 5 percentage point surcharge on top of the standard rate in every band, including the portion that would otherwise be tax-free. It applies to purchases of £40,000 or more.

On the £280,000 example: the standard bill of £4,000 becomes £18,000 once the surcharge is added. That's a meaningful cost to build into any buy-to-let sums alongside mortgage rates, regulation and rental yield before the numbers are said to stack up.

Overseas buyers: an extra 2% on top

Buyers who haven't been UK resident for at least 183 days in the 12 months before completion pay a further 2% non-resident surcharge — on top of the standard rate, and on top of the additional-property surcharge if it also applies. For a non-resident buying the £280,000 property as a second home or investment, that's £18,000 plus a further £5,600, taking the total to £23,600. HMRC will refund the 2% surcharge if the buyer becomes UK resident within the qualifying period after completion.

Is stamp duty going to change again in 2026?

Not so far. The current bands, first-time buyer threshold and surcharges are all carried over unchanged from the April 2025 reforms, and no further SDLT changes have been confirmed for the rest of 2026. That said, stamp duty is one of the more frequently adjusted taxes in recent Budgets, so it's sensible for anyone timing a purchase around the edge of a threshold to keep an eye on Budget announcements rather than assume today's rates are fixed for good.

What this means if you're buying — or selling — in Northumberland

For buyers, the sums above are the starting point for a realistic budget, not an afterthought once an offer is accepted. For sellers whose own next purchase depends on these numbers, it's worth working out the stamp duty on your likely next home at the same time as finding out what your current property is actually worth — the two figures together are what tell you whether a move genuinely adds up.

Tags: Buying Stamp Duty Northumberland