Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty?

Not on the first £300,000. Between £300,001 and £500,000 they pay 5% on that slice only. Above £500,000 the relief disappears entirely and normal rates apply to the whole price.

How much stamp duty does a first-time buyer pay on £350,000?

Nothing on the first £300,000, then 5% of the remaining £50,000 = £2,500. A non-first-time buyer would pay £7,500 on the same home — the relief saves £5,000.

What if one of us has owned a home before?

Then neither of you qualifies. For joint purchases, every buyer must be a first-time buyer — one previous owner on the title removes the relief for the whole purchase.

Is the relief different in Scotland and Wales?

Yes. Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) run their own systems — Scotland has a smaller first-time buyer relief and Wales has none, though its starting threshold is higher for everyone. This guide covers England and Northern Ireland.

Stamp Duty for First-Time Buyers: What You Pay and the £500k Cliff (UK, 2026)

If you are buying your first home in England or Northern Ireland, first-time buyer relief means no Stamp Duty on the first £300,000 and 5% only on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. Buy at £295,000 and you pay £0; at £400,000 you pay £5,000 instead of the standard £10,000. But the relief has a hard edge: one pound over £500,000 and you lose all of it. This guide works the examples and the traps — check your own price in the stamp duty calculator.

How first-time buyer relief works

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged in slices, like income tax. For first-time buyers on homes up to £500,000, the bands are:

Slice of price	First-time buyer rate	Standard rate
Up to £125,000	0%	0%
£125,001 – £250,000	0%	2%
£250,001 – £300,000	0%	5%
£300,001 – £500,000	5%	5%
Over £500,000	Relief lost — standard rates on everything	5%+ (10% above £925k)

The relief is worth up to £6,250 versus a standard buyer (the 0% treatment of the £125k–£300k slices). Rates and thresholds do change at Budgets — the calculator stays on current bands, so use it for the live figure.

Worked examples: £250k, £400k, £501k

£250,000: entirely inside the 0% first-time band → £0 (a standard buyer pays £2,500).
£400,000: £0 on the first £300k, 5% on the next £100k → £5,000 (standard buyer: £10,000).
£501,000: relief gone. Standard bands apply to the whole price → £15,050. That extra £1,000 of house price cost £5,000+ in tax.

The £500,000 cliff edge

Unlike the sliced bands, the relief threshold is all-or-nothing: at £500,000 you pay £10,000; at £500,001 you pay £15,050. If you are negotiating near the cliff, this is real money — a £505,000 asking price is genuinely worth negotiating to £500,000, because the seller's £5,000 concession saves you over £10,000 all-in. Fixtures and fittings paid for separately (at fair value) can also legitimately keep the property price at or under the line; your conveyancer will keep that honest.

Who counts as a first-time buyer

You must never have owned a residential property — anywhere in the world, including inherited property and shares of property.
Every joint buyer must qualify. Buying with a partner who owned a flat years ago removes the relief entirely.
The home must be your main residence — the relief never applies to buy-to-let.
Owning commercial property (with no dwelling) does not disqualify you.

Budgeting it into your purchase

Stamp duty is due within 14 days of completion and — unlike the deposit — cannot be borrowed as part of a normal mortgage, so it comes from cash on top of your deposit, legal fees and survey. On a £400,000 first home, budget roughly: £5,000 SDLT + £1,500–£2,500 conveyancing + £500–£1,000 survey. Run the exact duty for your price — and compare the first-time and standard figures — in the stamp duty calculator, and sense-check the monthly affordability with the salary breakdown calculator. (Scotland and Wales tax property differently — LBTT and LTT — so use jurisdiction-specific rates there.)