What counts as the amount paid for SDLT?
SDLT and non-cash payment
The SDLT amount can include more than cash paid for a property. Debt, services, work and other assets may matter.
- Review the whole deal, including side agreements.
- Non-cash value normally uses market value.
- Building work has a specific possible exclusion.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
What counts as the amount paid for SDLT?
Your property’s cash price is not the only basis for stamp duty.
When the bargain includes debt, work, services or another asset, the buyer may give that element as part of the deal, and its value may also count. That can alter the SDLT figure used to work out your bill.
What this rule is about
The legal term is chargeable consideration. The rule counts everything a buyer gives to secure the property, rather than only the money paid to the seller.
This matters where a deal has extra parts. A lower cash price does not always mean a lower SDLT amount.
What the official source says
HMRC’s manual says that HMRC can include anything of value given for the transaction when working out the SDLT amount, even where it is not cash. It is not limited to cash.
The law starts with money or money’s worth that the buyer, or someone connected with them, gives directly or indirectly.
- Cash paid for the property normally counts.
- A debt released as part of the deal can count.
- Taking over an existing debt can count.
- Services provided instead of cash can count.
- Other property transferred as part of the deal can count.
- Non-cash items normally use their market value at the relevant SDLT date.
- Foreign-currency sums must be converted into sterling under a separate rule.
The manual is HMRC guidance, not the law itself. Finance Act 2003 Schedule 4 contains the rules that decide what counts.
What this means in practice
Look at the full bargain. Ask what each side has agreed to give, do, release or take on. Do not stop at the price shown on the front page of the contract.
- Keep side letters and related agreements with the contract.
- Record any mortgage or other debt that changes hands.
- Identify work or services promised as part of the price.
- Get evidence for the value of a non-cash item.
One exception can matter. Building work may not count where it is done after the relevant date, on the right land, and the seller did not make it a condition that they would do it.
How to analyse it
Start by examining how the deal works in reality, rather than relying on the label attached to a payment, since that label may not reflect the bargain. Focus on what you give.
- List the cash price and every other part of the bargain.
- Check whether a connected person gives anything for you.
- Separate cash, debt, work, services and other assets.
- Apply the specific rule for debt, work or services.
- Value any remaining non-cash item at market value.
- Convert foreign-currency cash into sterling.
Example
Sam agrees to buy a house for £300,000. Sam also agrees to carry out £20,000 of repairs after completion.
If Sam does the work after the relevant SDLT date, on the bought property, and the seller did not require Sam to do it, Schedule 4 paragraph 10 can exclude the work. On those facts, the £20,000 work does not add to the SDLT amount.
A different result may follow if any condition is missing.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Spotting an extra promise is often straightforward.
The difficulty lies in establishing its value and deciding, where agreements overlap or depend on each other, whether it truly forms part of the property deal. That distinction can affect SDLT.
- A document may call something separate when it is part of one bargain.
- Debt arrangements can be more complex than a simple mortgage takeover.
- Market value may need reliable evidence, not an estimate.
- Work and services have different rules, so they should not be treated alike.
Key takeaways
- SDLT can be based on more than the cash price.
- Debt, services and transferred assets may count.
- Check every part of the bargain before working out SDLT.
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 — introduces the rules for the SDLT purchase amount
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 1 — what forms part of the SDLT purchase amount
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 7 — valuing non-cash payment at market value
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 8 — when released or assumed debt counts
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 9 — converting foreign-currency amounts into sterling
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 10 — when building work does not count
- FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 11 — valuing services given instead of money
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
- The value of a service, item transferred or work promised can depend on the facts and available valuation evidence.
- The supplied legislation is recorded only up to 17 November 2025. Current-law verification is needed for a transaction after that date.
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 contract and any side agreement
- Details of debts being released or taken over
- Invoices, specifications and timing for promised work
- Evidence supporting the value of non-cash items or services
- The exchange rate used where payment is in foreign currency
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 as the amount paid for SDLT? [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 - introduces the rules for the SDLT purchase amount https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/50/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 1 - what forms part of the SDLT purchase amount https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/1/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 7 - valuing non-cash payment at market value https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/7/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 8 - when released or assumed debt counts https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/8/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 9 - converting foreign-currency amounts into sterling https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/9/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 10 - when building work does not count https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/10/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 4 para 11 - valuing services given instead of money https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/4/paragraph/11/2025-11-17 Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm03700 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 - The value of a service, item transferred or work promised can depend on the facts and available valuation evidence. - The supplied legislation is recorded only up to 17 November 2025. Current-law verification is needed for a transaction after that date. 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 as the amount paid for SDLT?
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