The stamp duty relief that protected first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland for two years ended on 31 March 2025. From 1 April 2025, the nil-rate threshold dropped from £425,000 back to £300,000 and the maximum eligible property price dropped from £625,000 to £500,000. The share of first-time buyers paying stamp duty at all roughly doubled overnight, from around 21% to 42%.
If you are planning a purchase in 2025 or 2026, understanding the new rules matters before you set your budget.
What Changed on 1 April 2025
The Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief for first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland was temporarily expanded in September 2022. Those temporary thresholds expired at the end of March 2025 and reverted to the pre-2022 structure.
The current rates for first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland are:
| Purchase price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £300,000 | 0% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% on the portion above £300,000 |
| Above £500,000 | No first-time buyer relief applies; standard rates apply in full |
The maximum SDLT saving from first-time buyer relief at the new cap (a £500,000 property) is £5,000. On the same property before April 2025, the saving was £11,250.
Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). The first-time buyer relief there provides an increased nil-rate band of £175,000 (standard nil-rate is £145,000), reducing the maximum LBTT liability by £600. This has not changed.
Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT). There is no equivalent first-time buyer relief in Wales at all. The standard nil-rate threshold is £225,000.
How Much More Are First-Time Buyers Paying?
The impact varies significantly by region because the new £300,000 threshold bites differently depending on local average prices.
| Region | Avg. FTB price (approx.) | SDLT before 1 Apr 2025 | SDLT from 1 Apr 2025 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | £161,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Northern Ireland | £183,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Scotland (LBTT) | £189,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Yorkshire | £204,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Wales (LTT) | £208,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| North West | £211,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| West Midlands | £231,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| East Midlands | £242,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| South West | £306,000 | £0 | £300 | +£300 |
| East of England | £340,000 | £0 | £2,000 | +£2,000 |
| South East | £384,000 | £0 | £4,200 | +£4,200 |
| London | £549,000 | £6,200* | Full standard rates | Higher |
*Before April 2025, a London FTB buying at £549,000 paid SDLT only on the portion above £425,000 at 5%, giving £6,200. From April 2025, standard rates apply in full above £500,000, so the same buyer pays 0% on the first £250,000, then 5% on £250,001–£925,000, totalling around £14,950.
What this means for you: if you are buying in the North, Midlands, Wales, or Scotland, the April 2025 changes are unlikely to affect your bill at all. If you are buying in the South West, East, South East, or London, you need to factor the additional cost into your deposit and savings plan.
The London and South East Problem
The change hits hardest in London and the South East, where average prices sit well above £300,000 and many first-time buyers were previously sheltered by the higher threshold.
A typical South East first-time buyer purchasing at £384,000 now pays £4,200 in stamp duty, a cost that was zero under the previous rules. That is not a rounding error on top of an already demanding deposit. A 10% deposit on the same property is £38,400. Adding £4,200 in SDLT means the total upfront requirement has risen to over £42,000 before legal fees, surveys, and moving costs.
In London, the picture is more complicated. Average first-time buyer prices in London often exceed £500,000, which means relief was always limited. But the threshold drop from £425,000 to £300,000 still increases the bill for buyers in the £300,000–£500,000 range, a bracket that includes outer boroughs like Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, and parts of Croydon.
What About Wales and Scotland?
Wales: Land Transaction Tax applies and there is no first-time buyer relief. The nil-rate band is £225,000. A Welsh buyer purchasing at £250,000 pays 5% on the £25,000 above £225,000, so £1,250 in LTT. The April 2025 SDLT changes in England do not affect Welsh purchases, but the absence of any first-time buyer relief means Welsh buyers have always paid tax at lower price points than their English counterparts with relief.
Scotland: LBTT applies with a first-time buyer nil-rate band of £175,000. A Scottish buyer at £200,000 pays nothing. At £250,000, they pay 5% on £75,000 (the portion from £175,001 to £250,000), totalling £3,750. Scotland's rules have not changed in 2025 and the average Scottish price outside Edinburgh remains well below the threshold.
How to Calculate Your Stamp Duty Bill
The MortgagePulse affordability calculator applies the correct current stamp duty rules based on your purchase price, region, and buyer status. Enter your target property price, select your region, and toggle first-time buyer status to see your exact SDLT, LBTT, or LTT liability alongside your full affordability calculation.
For manual calculations, the formula for an English or Northern Irish first-time buyer buying between £300,001 and £500,000 is:
SDLT = (purchase price - £300,000) x 5%
So a £350,000 purchase attracts 5% on the £50,000 above £300,000, giving £2,500. At £400,000, the bill is £5,000.
Above £500,000, first-time buyer relief disappears entirely and standard rates apply from £0. This is an important cliff edge: a £501,000 purchase triggers far more SDLT than a £500,000 purchase.
Practical Planning for First-Time Buyers
A few things worth building into your budget and timeline:
Reserve cash separately for stamp duty. Lenders do not include SDLT in mortgage calculations. It is a cash cost, due on completion, and it comes out of your savings in addition to your deposit.
Check whether your target property is at a threshold boundary. At £300,000 exactly, you pay nothing. At £300,001, you pay 5% on £1, which is trivial, but at £310,000 you pay £500. The cost rises linearly from there. This is worth bearing in mind when negotiating.
If you are buying above £500,000, check whether shared ownership is an option. Shared ownership has its own SDLT treatment and first-time buyer relief can still apply in some circumstances.
Factor legal fees and survey costs into your total upfront budget. Solicitor fees typically run £1,500–£3,000. A RICS HomeBuyer Survey costs £400–£600 for most properties. These are on top of stamp duty, not instead of it.
Summary
The April 2025 stamp duty reversion raises costs for first-time buyers in the South West, East of England, South East, and London, and has no impact on buyers in the North, Midlands, Wales, or Scotland at typical regional prices. The maximum bill under first-time buyer relief (on a £500,000 property) is now £10,000 less than under the temporary rules.
If you are buying in 2025 or 2026, the affordability calculator will show you the exact figures for your situation, including stamp duty, monthly repayments, and a lender stress test result.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Stamp duty rates and thresholds are subject to change; always verify current rules at gov.uk before committing to a purchase. Speak to a qualified mortgage adviser before making any borrowing decision.
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