About HomeBuyingCosts

What this site is for

Use the calculator to estimate total upfront costs before making an offer. The stamp duty pages, city guides and conveyancing guides are built to answer specific planning questions — not generic property definitions. For formal legal or financial guidance, consult your solicitor or a qualified financial adviser.

What we cover

• Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) — England and Northern Ireland rates for residential property, first-time buyer relief, higher rates for additional dwellings and the non-UK surcharge.
• Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) — Scottish residential rates, first-time buyer relief, the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), with worked examples at different prices.
• Land Transaction Tax (LTT) — Welsh residential rates, higher residential rates for second properties, and how LTT differs from SDLT at common price points.
• Conveyancing fees and survey costs — typical solicitor and conveyancer fee ranges, what is included in the quote, survey types (Level 1, 2 and 3), and realistic completion cost totals.
• Cost-of-buying pages — pre-calculated total buying cost estimates at common property prices for all three UK tax regimes, useful for offer-stage budgeting.
• City guides — typical buying costs and stamp duty in major UK cities including London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff.

Editorial approach

Every guide and location page is written in plain British English and verified against current GOV.UK SDLT guidance, Revenue Scotland LBTT pages and the Welsh Revenue Authority LTT guidance. We prioritise practical accuracy and transparent assumptions. Where a page contains estimates, the methodology is linked clearly so readers understand what the figures are based on and where they should verify final figures.

How the site is maintained

• Calculator rates and thresholds are updated when the UK government announces changes to SDLT, LBTT or LTT — including at each fiscal event.
• Conveyancing fee estimates and survey cost ranges are reviewed annually and updated when market or regulatory conditions change materially.
• Guides are reviewed for accuracy against updated official thresholds at the same time rates change. Where a rate change materially alters worked examples, the guide is rewritten rather than just date-stamped.
• Pages that do not help readers make practical decisions are improved or removed rather than left in place.

Editorial ownership and contact

Editorial owner: James Whitfield, a UK personal finance writer with a focus on property buying costs, stamp duty and conveyancing. James researches SDLT, LBTT, LTT and full completion costs against official UK government publications and updates material when relevant policies change.

For corrections or factual feedback, contact us via the contact page or at contact page.

Last reviewed: May 2026.