Scotland charges LBTT instead of stamp duty: 0% up to £145,000, 2% on £145,001–£250,000, 5% on £250,001–£325,000, 10% on £325,001–£750,000 and 12% above £750,000. LBTT is £1,100 on a £200,000 home, £2,100 on £250,000, £4,600 on £300,000 and £13,350 on £400,000. First-time buyers pay nothing up to £175,000 (a saving of up to £600), and additional properties add the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on the full price.
Home Buying Cost Calculator (2026/27)Home Buying Cost Calculator
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Band-by-band tax breakdown ▼
| Band | Taxable slice | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | £145,000 | 0.0% | £0 |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | £105,000 | 2.0% | £2,100 |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | £75,000 | 5.0% | £3,750 |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | £25,000 | 10.0% | £2,500 |
| Total | £350,000 | — | £8,350 |
Estimates only. Confirm with your conveyancer and official calculators. Sources.
Cash you need — and when it's due
Deposit + costsThe all-in figure above is your tax and buying fees. But the real cash you need from savings also includes your deposit — and it's not all due on the same day. Set your deposit below to see the true total and the payment timeline.
Assumes a 10% exchange deposit (or your full deposit if smaller). Your lender, not this tool, sets the minimum deposit it will accept. Excludes mortgage interest, moving and ongoing costs. Estimates only — confirm exact figures with your conveyancer.
LBTT rates and bands 2026/27
LBTT is charged in slices: each rate applies only to the part of the price inside that band, so no single rate is charged on the whole purchase.
| Purchase price band | LBTT rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% |
| Over £750,000 | 12% |
First-time buyers: the 0% band runs to £175,000 instead of £145,000. Additional properties: add the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on the full purchase price.
First-time buyer LBTT relief (£175,000)
Scottish first-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000. The relief is worth 2% of the £30,000 slice between those two figures — a maximum of £600 — and it is applied as a reduction to the LBTT otherwise due.
Buy at or below £175,000 and a first-time buyer pays no LBTT. Above it, the saving is a flat £600: at £250,000 a first-time buyer pays £1,500 against £2,100, and at £300,000 £4,000 against £4,600.
Relief is claimed on the LBTT return your solicitor files with Revenue Scotland. Every buyer named on the title must be a first-time buyer, and the property must be your only or main residence.
Additional Dwelling Supplement: the 8% surcharge
ADS applies when you own another residential property anywhere in the world at the end of the day of completion and the price is £40,000 or more. Unlike the banded LBTT it is charged at 8% on the entire purchase price, which makes it the single largest line in a Scottish second-home or buy-to-let budget.
On a £300,000 purchase ADS adds £24,000, taking the total from £4,600 to £28,600. On a £200,000 flat it adds £16,000 to £1,100.
If you are replacing your main residence but have not yet sold the old one, you pay ADS at completion and reclaim it from Revenue Scotland once the previous home sells — provided that happens within 36 months.
LBTT vs stamp duty: what actually differs
The nil-rate band is higher in Scotland (£145,000 against £125,000 for SDLT), so cheaper purchases often pay less LBTT than they would pay SDLT. The top rate arrives much earlier: 12% applies above £750,000 in Scotland but only above £1.5m in England and Northern Ireland.
That crossover means Scotland is cheaper at the bottom and more expensive at the top. At £200,000 LBTT is £1,100 against £1,500 of SDLT. At £500,000 LBTT is £23,350 against £15,000 of SDLT.
First-time buyer relief is also far smaller in Scotland: a maximum of £600, against up to £5,000 under the England and Northern Ireland scheme, which runs to £500,000.
What LBTT does not cover
LBTT is only one line in the completion bill. A Scottish purchase also needs solicitor fees, searches, the Registers of Scotland registration dues, a home report review (the seller provides the home report in Scotland, so buyers rarely pay for a separate survey), and any mortgage product fee.
On a £300,000 Scottish purchase, £4,600 of LBTT plus the default legal, survey and lender assumptions in the calculator above comes to £7,299 of cash needed at completion, on top of the deposit.
Change the fee assumptions in the calculator as soon as you have real quotes — that is usually what moves the all-in figure, not the tax.
Worked LBTT examples at common Scottish prices
Every figure below is produced by the calculator on this page using the 2026/27 LBTT bands.
| Purchase price | Standard LBTT | First-time buyer | Second home (incl. 8% ADS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £150,000 | £100 | £0 | £12,100 |
| £175,000 | £600 | £0 | £14,600 |
| £200,000 | £1,100 | £500 | £17,100 |
| £250,000 | £2,100 | £1,500 | £22,100 |
| £300,000 | £4,600 | £4,000 | £28,600 |
| £350,000 | £8,350 | £7,750 | £36,350 |
| £400,000 | £13,350 | £12,750 | £45,350 |
| £500,000 | £23,350 | £22,750 | £63,350 |
| £750,000 | £48,350 | £47,750 | £108,350 |
First-time buyer relief is capped at £600, so above £175,000 the first-time buyer column is always £600 lower than the standard column.
Scottish city and county cost pages
Frequently asked questions
How much is LBTT on a £300,000 house in Scotland?
LBTT on a £300,000 home is £4,600 for a standard purchase: nothing on the first £145,000, 2% on the £105,000 between £145,001 and £250,000 (£2,100), and 5% on the £50,000 between £250,001 and £300,000 (£2,500). A first-time buyer pays £4,000 because relief lifts the nil-rate band to £175,000.
Do first-time buyers pay LBTT in Scotland?
First-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000, worth up to £600. Above £175,000 you pay LBTT as normal on the excess, so on a £300,000 purchase a first-time buyer pays £4,000 rather than £4,600. Buy at or below £175,000 and a first-time buyer pays no LBTT at all.
What is the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS)?
ADS is a surcharge of 8% on the full purchase price for anyone buying an additional residential property — a second home or a buy-to-let — costing £40,000 or more. It is charged on top of standard LBTT, so a £300,000 second home pays £28,600 in total rather than £4,600. It can be reclaimed if you sell your previous main home within 36 months.
Is LBTT different from stamp duty?
Yes. Scotland replaced UK Stamp Duty Land Tax with LBTT in April 2015. LBTT starts at £145,000 where SDLT starts at £125,000, it has an extra 5% band that runs only to £325,000, and the top 12% rate bites above £750,000 rather than above £1.5m. An English SDLT calculator will give the wrong figure for a Scottish purchase.
How much is LBTT on a £200,000 house?
LBTT on a £200,000 purchase is £1,100: nothing on the first £145,000, then 2% on the £55,000 above it. A first-time buyer pays £500 because the nil-rate band rises to £175,000.
When do I pay LBTT?
An LBTT return must be submitted and the tax paid within 30 days of the effective date (usually completion). In practice your solicitor files the return with Revenue Scotland and settles the tax as part of completion, so you rarely deal with it directly. Budget the cash: it is due at completion, not later.
Does LBTT apply to the whole price or just the slice above the threshold?
LBTT is charged in slices, like income tax. You pay each rate only on the part of the price that falls inside that band — not the whole price. The one exception is ADS, which is charged at 8% on the full purchase price when it applies.
Sources & references
OfficialThe figures and rules on this page are drawn from the official UK government sources below. Rates are the confirmed 2026/27 amounts. Each link opens the relevant official page in a new tab.
- Revenue Scotland: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax revenue.scot/land-buildings-transaction-tax Official LBTT rates, bands and guidance for Scotland.
- Revenue Scotland: Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) revenue.scot/taxes/land-buildings-transaction-tax/guidance/lbtt-legislation-and-guidance/additional-dwelling-supplement-ads Scottish surcharge on additional properties.
- GOV.UK: Buying or selling your home www.gov.uk/buy-sell-your-home Government overview of the home-buying process and costs.
Verified against published UK government guidance. See also Methodology and Editorial standards.