What is Stamp Duty Land Tax?
Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid by the buyer, not the seller, when they buy property in England (Wales has Land Transaction Tax instead). Investor buyers usually pay a 5% surcharge on additional residential properties, which affects what they are willing to offer for a portfolio.
Read more in our guide: Fees and costs of selling
SDLT Rates on Residential Property in England (from 1 April 2025)
| Portion of the price | Standard rate / with 5% higher rates surcharge |
|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% / 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% / 7% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% / 10% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% / 15% |
| Over £1.5 million | 12% / 17% |
| Non-UK resident buyers | A further 2% |
| Companies buying a dwelling over £500,000 | 17% flat rate unless a relief such as for property rental businesses applies |
| Deadline | Return filed and tax paid within 14 days of completion |
Who Pays SDLT and Why Sellers Should Care
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is paid by the buyer of land or property in England and Northern Ireland. Wales has Land Transaction Tax and Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. As a seller you never pay it, but investor buyers deduct it from what they are willing to pay, so it has a direct effect on the price you achieve for a portfolio. Almost every investor buyer pays the 5% higher rates surcharge, because they already own property or are buying through a company.
SDLT on a Portfolio Purchase
- Linked transactions. Where several properties are bought from the same seller, the purchases are usually linked and the prices are added together to work out the residential rates, so a block of cheap houses can be taxed as if it were one expensive property.
- Six or more dwellings. Where six or more dwellings are bought in a single transaction, the buyer can choose to pay non-residential rates (0% up to £150,000, 2% to £250,000 and 5% above), which can be cheaper than the residential higher rates.
- Multiple Dwellings Relief, which used to work out the rate on the average price per dwelling, was abolished from 1 June 2024. That made linked purchases of five or fewer dwellings much more expensive.
- Mixed-use property, such as a shop with a flat above, is taxed at non-residential rates.
- Company share sales. If a buyer acquires the shares in a property company instead of the properties, they pay 0.5% stamp duty on the shares, not SDLT.
A Worked Example
An investor buys six terraced houses at £150,000 each (£900,000) from one landlord.
| Treatment | SDLT | Share of the price |
|---|---|---|
| Six separate buyers, one house each, residential higher rates (£8,000 each) | £48,000 in total | 5.3% |
| One buyer, residential higher rates on the linked £900,000 | £80,000 | 8.9% |
| One buyer, non-residential rates on the whole £900,000 (six or more dwellings) | £34,500 | 3.8% |
The example is simplified and the buyer's advisers will decide which treatment applies. It shows why the number of dwellings in a deal matters: a buyer of five houses from one seller may face the aggregated residential rates, while a buyer of six or more can choose the lower non-residential rates and may be able to pay more for the portfolio as a result. This is one reason a block sale can be attractive.
Recent Changes
- 1 June 2024: Multiple Dwellings Relief abolished.
- 31 October 2024: higher rates surcharge increased from 3% to 5%, and the company flat rate from 15% to 17%.
- 1 April 2025: the nil-rate threshold returned from £250,000 to £125,000.
Official Sources and Further Reading
- GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax residential property rates
- GOV.UK: Higher rates on purchases of residential property
- GOV.UK: SDLT non-residential and mixed rates
General information for landlords in England, checked against official sources in October 2026. It is not tax, legal or financial advice: speak to a qualified accountant or solicitor about your own circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid by the buyer, not the seller, when they buy property in England (Wales has Land Transaction Tax instead). Investor buyers usually pay a 5% surcharge on additional residential properties, which affects what they are willing to offer for a portfolio.
No. SDLT is paid by the buyer. It still matters to sellers, because investor buyers factor it into what they offer.
Buyers of additional residential property, including most landlords and all companies, pay a 5% surcharge on top of the standard SDLT rates in England.
Multiple Dwellings Relief was abolished from 1 June 2024. A buyer of six or more dwellings in one transaction can still choose non-residential rates, which can be lower.
The SDLT return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion, usually by the buyer's solicitor.
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