Home › Finance Calculators › Stamp Duty Calculator
Stamp Duty Calculator
Use this free stamp duty calculator to work out the tax on a property purchase before you commit. Pick your region, enter the property price, add any fixed legal or documentation fees, and it shows the duty payable, the total cost of the purchase, and the effective rate — with a band-by-band breakdown for the UK.
Currency shown is £ for the UK and $ elsewhere.
Australia default 4%. Rates vary by state — change this to your local rate.
Optional. Legal and documentation fees are added to the total cost, not taxed.
| Property value | |
| Stamp duty payable | |
| Fixed fees | |
| Total cost | |
| Effective rate |
| Band / basis | Rate | Duty |
|---|
UK residential bands
Each band taxes only the part of the price inside it. The first £125,000 of a residential purchase pays 0%.
Rates change from time to time — these are the bands that took effect in April 2025. Check the current local rates before relying on a figure.
How it works
Stamp duty is a tax on buying property or land. It is charged on top of the purchase price, so the real cost of buying a home is the price plus the duty plus your legal and documentation fees. Because the duty can run into thousands, it pays to work it out early: a buyer who budgets only for the headline price can be caught short at completion, when the tax is due in full.
In the UK the tax is called Stamp Duty Land Tax, and it works in bands. The price is sliced into bands, and each slice is taxed at its own rate. Only the money inside a band pays that band's rate, which is different from a flat tax where one rate applies to the whole price. The residential bands used here, which took effect in April 2025, are: 0% on the first £125,000; 2% on the part from £125,001 to £250,000; 5% on the part from £250,001 to £925,000; 10% on the part from £925,001 to £1,500,000; and 12% on anything above £1,500,000. So a £400,000 home pays nothing on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500), and 5% on the remaining £150,000 (£7,500) — a duty of £10,000, not 5% of the whole £400,000. That is why the effective rate, the duty as a share of the whole price, is lower than the top band rate: 2.5% in that example.
Other countries do it differently. In Australia, duty (often called transfer duty) is set by each state or territory, so there is no single national figure; the calculator starts at a typical 4% and lets you change it to the rate for your state. In India, stamp duty also varies by state and by the type of property, so the calculator starts at 5% and again lets you type in the rate that applies to you. The custom mode works the same way for anywhere else: enter any percentage and the duty is that percentage of the property value. In all three flat-rate modes the duty is simply the property value multiplied by the rate.
Fixed fees are kept separate from the tax. Legal fees, conveyancing, and documentation charges are real costs of buying, so the calculator adds them to the total cost, but they are not taxed — the duty is worked out on the property value alone. Enter 0 if you have no fee figure yet, and add your solicitor's quote when you have it.
Flat-rate duty = Property value × Rate %
Total cost = Property value + Duty + Fixed fees
Effective rate = Duty ÷ Property value × 100
A few things can change the bill. First-time buyer relief, purchases of additional properties, and purchases by companies can all attract different rates in the UK, and similar exemptions exist in other countries, so this calculator covers the standard residential case only. The currency shown follows the region you pick — pounds for the UK and dollars elsewhere — because the UK bands are set in pounds. If your purchase is in another currency, use the custom mode and treat the figures in your own currency.
Worked example
Take a UK residential purchase at a price of £400,000, with no extra fees. Select the UK region, enter £400,000, and leave fees at £0. The calculator works through the bands like this.
Step 1: The first £125,000 falls in the 0% band, so the duty on that slice is £125,000 × 0% = £0.
Step 2: The next £125,000 (£250,000 − £125,000) falls in the 2% band, so the duty on that slice is £125,000 × 2% = £2,500.
Step 3: The remaining £150,000 (£400,000 − £250,000) falls in the 5% band, so the duty on that slice is £150,000 × 5% = £7,500.
Step 4: Add the slices: £0 + £2,500 + £7,500 = £10,000 of stamp duty payable.
Step 5: Add the duty to the price, with no fees: £400,000 + £10,000 + £0 = £410,000 total cost. The effective rate is £10,000 ÷ £400,000 × 100 = 2.5%.
The tool shows the same result: duty £10,000, total cost £410,000, and an effective rate of 2.5%. The band table shows the 0%, 2% and 5% slices separately, so you can see exactly where the £10,000 comes from.
For a flat-rate example, switch to the custom mode and enter a property value of $400,000 at a rate of 3%, with $500 of fixed fees. The duty is $400,000 × 3% = $12,000, and the total cost is $400,000 + $12,000 + $500 = $412,500. The same arithmetic works for the Australia and India modes: type in the local percentage and the calculator multiplies it by the property value.
FAQ
What is stamp duty?
Stamp duty is a tax charged when you buy a property or a piece of land. It is paid on top of the purchase price, usually by the buyer, and the amount depends on the price of the property and the rates in force where the property is located. In the UK it is called Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT); other countries use different names for the same kind of charge, such as transfer duty.
Who pays stamp duty?
The buyer normally pays stamp duty when a property purchase completes. It is usually handled by the solicitor or conveyancer acting for the buyer, who collects the tax along with their legal fees and files the return. The seller does not usually pay stamp duty on the same sale, although the seller may pay other taxes on any profit from the sale.
How is stamp duty calculated?
It depends on where the property is. In the UK, the price is split into bands and each band is taxed at its own rate, so only the part of the price inside a band pays that band's rate. In Australia and India, duty is usually a percentage of the property value that varies by state or territory, so this calculator uses a flat percentage you can edit. The custom mode works the same way: multiply the property value by the percentage you enter.
Do stamp duty rates differ by region?
Yes. Rates, thresholds, and exemptions differ by country and often by state or region inside a country. The UK bands in this calculator are the residential rates that took effect in April 2025, while Australia and India have different rates in different states, which is why those modes let you type in the percentage that applies to your property. Always check the current local rates before you rely on a figure.
Is this an official stamp duty figure?
No. This calculator gives an estimate only, for planning your budget. Rates and thresholds change, exemptions and reliefs may apply to your purchase, and the exact amount is worked out by your solicitor or the tax authority when the purchase completes. Use the result as a planning figure and confirm the current local rates before you commit to a purchase.