Stamp Duty on a £5 Million House 2026
Quick answer: standard £511,250. Second home £763,750. Corporate flat 15% £750,000. Effective rate roughly 10%.
By buyer type at £5 million
| Buyer type | England + NI (SDLT) | Scotland (LBTT) | Wales (LTT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard buyer | £511,250 | £553,350 | £522,450 |
| Second home / additional | £763,750 | £953,350 | £897,450 |
| Non-UK resident (standard) | £611,250 | £553,350 | £522,450 |
| Non-UK resident + second home | £861,250 | £953,350 | £897,450 |
| Corporate (15% flat, Sch 4A) | £750,000 | £553,350 + ADS | £897,450 |
How the £511,250 standard SDLT is built
| Band | Rate | Taxable in this band | Tax due |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 to £125,000 | 0% | £125,000 | £0 |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | £125,000 | £2,500 |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% | £675,000 | £33,750 |
| £925,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% | £575,000 | £57,500 |
| £1,500,001 to £5,000,000 | 12% | £3,500,000 | £420,000 |
| Total | £511,250 | ||
Effective rate: 10.23%. The 12% band contributes £420,000 - 82% of total SDLT. At this price band the SDLT is a meaningful slice of the total purchase cost, comparable in scale to the broker fee and the buyer's legal costs combined.
Why corporate flat 15% can be lower than personal banded
At £5m the corporate 15% flat rate (£750,000) is higher than the standard banded rate (£511,250), but only by £238,750. For a corporate buyer adding the 5% additional-dwellings or 2% non-resident surcharge to the standard banded rate, the math reverses. For a non-UK resident second-home corporate buyer that would otherwise face £861,250 in personally-banded SDLT, the corporate flat 15% of £750,000 is actually £111,250 cheaper. Hence why holding high-value residential property through offshore SPVs was historically common, until the introduction of the 15% rate and ATED in 2012-13 made enveloping economically unattractive.
The Schedule 4A reliefs that bring the corporate rate back to standard banded rates require genuine commercial use of the property: rental at commercial rates with continuous letting (qualifying property-rental business), property development as part of a trade, accommodation for employees who are not connected persons, qualifying charities, or working farm-houses on working farms. Each relief has clawback if the qualifying use ceases within three years.
For the full corporate-buyer breakdown see companies and SPVs.
The £763,750 second-home figure and refund route
A £5m second home pays 5% on £125k (£6,250), 7% on £125k (£8,750), 10% on £675k (£67,500), 15% on £575k (£86,250), 17% on £3.5m (£595,000). Total: £763,750. The additional 5% surcharge alone contributes £250,000. Of that £250,000, the full amount is reclaimable from HMRC if the second purchase was a replacement main residence and the previous main residence sells within three years of the new completion.
The October 2024 surcharge increase from 3% to 5% added £100,000 to this figure (£150k to £250k). For very-high-value transactions, the surcharge increase represented one of the largest single-policy SDLT impacts ever, primarily because the surcharge is applied on the full price not on the slice above any threshold.
See stamp duty refund for the reclaim process.
SDLT planning and the anti-avoidance landscape
At £5m the £511,250 SDLT bill is large enough to attract serious tax-planning interest. The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) introduced by section 206 of the Finance Act 2013, the Targeted Anti-Avoidance Rule (TAAR) at section 75A FA 2003, and the SDLT-specific anti-avoidance rules in Schedule 4A all combine to disallow the historically-common SDLT mitigation schemes (sub-sale relief, distribution-in-specie chains, group-relief structures used to fractionate transactions). HMRC's litigation record on aggressive SDLT planning since 2015 is approximately 95% wins, with penalties of up to 100% of the avoided tax under Schedule 24 FA 2007.
Legitimate planning that consistently works: genuine commercial incorporation of a property investment business meeting all Schedule 4A relief conditions, mixed-use treatment for genuinely mixed estates (residential dwelling plus commercial outbuildings or paddocks under HMRC's SDLT Manual SDLTM00370 and the post-Hyman case law), and shared-ownership Market Value election where the lease grant is the first chargeable transaction. Apportionment of chattels (free-standing items, not fixtures) reduces the SDLT base modestly.
For deeper coverage see mixed-use SDLT and companies and SPVs.
£5m vs comparable global property-transfer taxes
The UK is comparatively expensive at this price band relative to other major Western property markets. France charges 5.81% droits de mutation on a €5m residence (around £291,000), Germany 3.5-6.5% Grunderwerbsteuer depending on land (around £250,000-£450,000), the US no federal property-transfer tax (state and local stamps vary widely, often well under 1%), Singapore approximately 6% Buyer's Stamp Duty for residents and 65% ABSD for foreign buyers (S$3.25m on S$5m for a foreign second-home buyer, dwarfing UK rates), Hong Kong approximately 4.25% Ad Valorem for residents and 15% Buyer's Stamp Duty plus higher rates for foreign buyers (around 30% on first purchase).
For residents the UK's 10.23% effective rate at £5m is towards the high end of OECD comparable markets. For non-resident corporate buyers stacking 15% flat plus ATED holding charges, the UK is one of the most expensive jurisdictions globally, by deliberate design to discourage offshore enveloping of UK residential real estate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is stamp duty on a £5 million house in 2026?
Standard £511,250, second home £763,750, non-UK resident £611,250, corporate (15% flat) £750,000. Scotland LBTT £553,350; Wales LTT £522,450.
What is the effective SDLT rate at £5m?
10.23%. The marginal rate is 12% (top band).
What is the most expensive single-stack SDLT at £5m?
Non-UK resident second-home buyer: £861,250 (5% + 2% extra on every band). The corporate 15% flat is £750,000 - sometimes cheaper than personal-banded stacking.
What does Scotland LBTT cost at £5m?
£553,350 standard. Same £42,100 differential vs England as above £1.5m (both nations in 12% top band).
Are bespoke high-value SDLT planning strategies available?
Yes for legitimate commercial incorporations, mixed-use treatment, shared-ownership elections, and chattels apportionment. Aggressive schemes routinely fail under section 206 FA 2013 GAAR and section 75A FA 2003 TAAR.
Is the SDLT deductible against future CGT?
Yes if the property is not the main residence at sale. SDLT is an allowable acquisition cost under section 38 TCGA 1992.
Related price points
Not tax advice. Above £3m every transaction is bespoke. Schedule 4A interactions, ATED, non-resident status, mixed-use, trust beneficial-interest tests, and section 75A TAAR all matter and turn on facts not visible on the face of the transaction. Engage a chartered tax adviser at the heads-of-terms stage, not at exchange.