Stamp Duty on Buy-to-Let: What You Will Pay in 2026

Stamp duty on a buy-to-let is not a rounding error. On a £350,000 purchase, you pay £25,000 before a tenant has moved in. On a £500,000 purchase, it is £40,000. That comes out of your own funds, upfront, and it reduces the return on every penny you invest.

Since October 2024, every buy-to-let purchase in England and Northern Ireland has attracted a 5% additional dwelling surcharge on top of standard Stamp Duty Land Tax rates. The surcharge was raised from 3% at the Autumn Budget 2024. It applies to every band of the purchase price, with no exemption for lower-value properties.

Running numbers on a deal without accounting for SDLT is one of the most common mistakes new landlords make. This guide covers the current rates, four worked examples, and what reduces your bill and what does not.

Why SDLT Hits Harder on Buy-to-Let

Standard SDLT applies to every property purchase in England and Northern Ireland. A main home buyer pays nothing on the first £125,000, then 2% on the portion between £125,001 and £250,000, and so on up the bands.

A buy-to-let buyer pays the additional dwelling surcharge on top of every one of those bands, including the part below £125,000 where owner-occupiers pay nothing at all.

On a £250,000 purchase, an owner-occupier currently pays £2,500 in SDLT. A buy-to-let buyer pays £15,000. The difference is the surcharge working across the full purchase price.

This is also why gross yield figures can mislead you when you first look at a deal. A property advertised with a 6.5% gross yield on a £250,000 asking price does not reflect the £15,000 in SDLT you are paying before a tenant arrives. Your actual total investment is higher. Your actual yield is lower.

The 5% Additional Dwelling Surcharge

The additional dwelling surcharge was raised from 3% to 5% on 31 October 2024. It applies to all transactions completed on or after that date.

The surcharge works on top of the standard residential SDLT bands, not as a flat addition to the total bill. Each slice of the purchase price is taxed at the relevant band rate, with 5 percentage points added to that rate.

There is no threshold below which the surcharge disappears. It applies from the first pound on properties where you already own another dwelling.

An additional dwelling is broadly any residential property that is not your main home at the point of purchase. This captures buy-to-let, second homes, and holiday lets.