Stamp Duty non-UK Residents

Non-UK residents pay more in stamp duty when buying a home in England and Northern Ireland.

Non-UK residents are required to pay an extra 2 percent in stamp duty when they purchase a property in England or Northern Ireland.

Non-UK resident status is determined if someone is not present in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 month period leading up to the purchase of a property.

Non-UK resident SDLT calculator

The stamp duty calculators below show non UK resident SDLT calculations for transactions from 31st October 2024. The calculations reflect a temporary increase to initial SDLT threshold from £125k to £250k until March 31st 2025.

Important Notice: The updated stamp duty calculators are based on existing Government SDLT information and resources. Please use stamp duty calculations for guidance purposes only.

Stamp duty calculations include the non resident surcharge of 2% applied to all rates with the exception of the zero rate threshold for additional property purchases below £40k.

The stamp duty calculations above apply to freehold residential property located in England or Northern Ireland. The SDLT calculations show indicative levels of stamp duty for non-UK residents. For UK based SDLT calculations please use our UK resident stamp duty calculator.

How does the non-UK resident stamp duty surcharge work?

From April 2021 anyone living overseas might need to pay an additional 2 percent in stamp duty if they buy a property in England or Northern Ireland.

For SDLT purposes a non-UK resident is someone who has spent less than 183 days in the UK over the 12 month period leading up the purchase of a property.

Anyone who is non-UK tax resident will be liable for the new surcharge. The surcharge will also apply to British Expats working and living overseas.

If someone becomes a UK resident in the 12 months after the buying a property, it may be possible to request a refund of the non-UK resident surcharge. The refund must be claimed within 2 years of the purchase.

Overseas buyers who already own a home will pay the new 2% surcharge in addition to the existing 5% charge levied on additional property purchases. This means for additional property transactions the top rate of stamp duty is now 19%.

Why was the non-UK resident stamp duty surcharge introduced?

The Government hope that the stamp duty surcharge could take some heat out of the London property market where foreign investment is high.

This in turn could help control house price inflation which could make housing more affordable for UK residents.

The Government initially planned to use the extra stamp duty revenue to provide around 6000 new homes for the homeless.

Non-UK resident SDLT rates

SDLT rates from 31st October 2024.

The table below shows stamp duty rates for transactions from 31st October 2024 follwoing the increase in the stamp duty surcharge for second homes.

Tax Band	Normal Rate	Additional Property
less than £250k	2%	7%*
£250k to £925k	7%	12%
£925k to £1.5m	12%	17%
rest over £1.5m	14%	19%
* An additional property purchased for less than £40k will attract 0% tax. For purchases from £40k to £250k the SDLT rate will be 7% on full purchase price.