What counts towards stamp duty: HMRC’s guide to the amount paid
In short
HMRC’s page is an index to guidance on working out the amount used for SDLT. The contract price may not be the only relevant figure.
- Fees, VAT and later payments can matter
- One price may need a fair split
- The documents and facts decide the result
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
What counts towards stamp duty: HMRC’s guide to the amount paid
What counts towards stamp duty: HMRC’s guide to the amount paid
The price on your contract is not always the full figure used for stamp duty land tax. Fees, VAT, later payments and non-cash value can matter too. HMRC’s page is a contents list that points to guidance on those questions.
What this rule is about
SDLT is worked out by reference to what you give to get the land. The legal term is chargeable consideration, but it usually means the amount you pay for the property and anything else of value you give for it.
That sounds simple. It often is not.
A sale can include an estate agent’s fee, furniture, building work, a debt, a payment due later or a lease. The real question is not what a payment is called. It is what the payment is really for.
What the official source says
HMRC’s source page does not give one answer. It lists the manual pages that deal with how much is counted for SDLT. HMRC’s manual is guidance, rather than the law itself.
The law sends this issue to Schedule 4 of Finance Act 2003. In broad terms, it can catch money or other value given directly or indirectly for the land.
- Fees connected with the sale, including some seller and auction fees
- VAT connected with the transaction
- Payments that are delayed, uncertain or depend on a future event
- A fair split where one price covers land and something else
- Property exchanges and the taking on or release of a debt
- Payments made in a foreign currency
- Building works or services linked to a land deal
- Special issues where a lease is granted, ended or assigned
- Market-value rules for some company transactions
What this means in practice
Do not assume that a low stated land price ends the SDLT question. Nor should you assume that every separate payment must be added. The documents and the commercial reality both matter.
For example, a genuine payment for movable furniture may need separating from the land price. But an artificial split will not work simply because the contract uses two labels.
- Keep a clear list of every sum paid by you or for you
- Check who receives each payment and why
- Keep invoices for separate goods, works and services
- Read side letters as well as the main contract
- Flag any debt, exchange, future payment or unusual fee early
How to analyse it
Start with the whole bargain, not just the headline price. Then work through each item. This is the part people can miss when a transaction has been put together in a hurry.
- What land or leasehold interest are you getting?
- What cash payments will you make?
- Are you giving anything else of value?
- Is anyone connected with you making a payment for the deal?
- Does one price cover land and separate goods or services?
- If so, is the proposed split fair and supported by evidence?
- Is any amount due later, dependent on an event or still unknown?
- Does the deal involve VAT, debt, an exchange or a company?
Example
Illustration: Priya agrees to buy a house for £300,000. The agreement also says she will pay £10,000 for freestanding furniture. If that furniture is genuinely separate and the £10,000 is a fair figure, the price may need to be split between the house and the furniture.
The calculation would then begin with £290,000 for the house, rather than £300,000. That is not automatic. A vague list or an unrealistic furniture price would make the split harder to support.
Why this can be difficult in practice
You might think an invoice settles the point. It does not always. A separate invoice helps, but it cannot change what the parties truly agreed to pay for the land.
Some arrangements have several moving parts. A future payment may be uncertain. A seller’s cost may be paid by the buyer. One deal may include land, construction and services at the same time.
- Calling a payment a fee does not decide its treatment
- Separate paperwork does not prove there are separate bargains
- A delayed payment is not necessarily ignored
- VAT can affect the amount used for SDLT
- A fair price split needs evidence, not just a convenient figure
- Lease and company deals can have extra statutory rules
Key takeaways
- Look beyond the price shown for the property.
- Check every payment, benefit and linked agreement.
- Use the detailed HMRC topic page that matches your facts.
Technical analysis
For advisers, and for anyone who wants to check the law behind this page. You do not need this section to understand the guidance above.
Legislation
- FA 2003 section 50 — schedule 4 rules on amounts paid
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 1 — payments and non-cash value included
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 2 — when VAT is included in the amount
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 3 — delayed payments without a discount
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 4 — fairly splitting a price between items
- FA 2003 section 51 — future or unknown amounts paid
- FA 2003 section 52 — limits for long-term periodic payments
- FA 2003 section 53 — market value for connected company deals
Official guidance
The pages below are HMRC’s guidance. Guidance is not law. It sets out how HMRC reads the legislation, and it is not binding on you, on a tribunal or on a court. Where guidance and the legislation differ, the legislation wins. HMRC can also change or withdraw guidance, and it may not cover your facts.
Where this is not settled
- A label such as ‘fee’, ‘furniture payment’ or ‘service charge’ does not settle the SDLT treatment. The underlying facts matter.
- This index alone cannot decide whether a particular payment is for land, a separate item or another service.
Evidence you would need
This kind of case is decided on the facts of the individual property. These are the records that usually settle it, and the ones an adviser would ask you for.
- The signed contract and any side agreements
- A full breakdown of every payment and fee
- Invoices for furniture, services, works or agents’ fees
- Details of debts, VAT and any payment due later
- The transaction date and the parties’ relationship where relevant
Explore this with an AI
Readers often want to test their own situation. Copy the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It hands the model the actual legislation for this page rather than letting it answer from memory, and tells it to be explicit about what is uncertain. What comes back is information, not advice – check it against the links above.
I am researching UK Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), which applies in England and Northern Ireland. MY QUESTION What counts towards stamp duty: HMRC's guide to the amount paid [Replace this with your own situation: what you are buying, the price, the dates, who the buyer is, and what you plan to do with the property.] THE LAW THIS TURNS ON - FA 2003 section 50 - schedule 4 rules on amounts paid https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/50/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 1 - payments and non-cash value included https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/1/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 2 - when VAT is included in the amount https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/2/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 3 - delayed payments without a discount https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/3/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 4 - fairly splitting a price between items https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/4/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 51 - future or unknown amounts paid https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/51/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 52 - limits for long-term periodic payments https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/52/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 53 - market value for connected company deals https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/53/2025-11-17 Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm03600 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. Guidance from HMRC is its view of the law, not the law, and does not bind a tribunal or a court. 2. Tell me what the rule actually requires, in plain English. 3. Tell me which facts decide the answer, and which facts would change it. 4. Tell me what evidence I would need to support the position. 5. Be explicit about anything unsettled or fact-sensitive. Do not guess. 6. Your training data has a cutoff and SDLT rates and reliefs change at fiscal events. Say so if you are not sure the law is current. POINTS ALREADY KNOWN TO BE UNCERTAIN ON THIS TOPIC - A label such as 'fee', 'furniture payment' or 'service charge' does not settle the SDLT treatment. The underlying facts matter. - This index alone cannot decide whether a particular payment is for land, a separate item or another service. Do not give me a conclusion you cannot support from the provisions above.
Legislation links show Finance Act 2003 as it stood on 2025-11-17. The law may have changed since, and the rules that apply are those in force on the date of your transaction. The official guidance this page is based on is here.
This page was last updated on 31 August 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: What counts towards stamp duty: HMRC’s guide to the amount paid
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