First-time buyer stamp duty relief: the £500,000 limit explained
First-time buyer stamp duty relief
From 1 April 2025, first-time buyers can get SDLT relief on a qualifying home costing no more than £500,000.
- No SDLT is due on the first £300,000.
- The amount from £300,001 to £500,000 is charged at 5%.
- The home must be your only or main home.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
First-time buyer stamp duty relief: the £500,000 limit explained
First-time buyer stamp duty relief: the £500,000 limit explained
If you are buying your first home in England or Northern Ireland, you may pay less stamp duty. From 1 April 2025, the relief can apply only where the price is £500,000 or less. The property must also be the home you plan to live in.
What this rule is about
First-time buyers’ relief lowers the stamp duty charge when qualifying people buy a home, provided the purchase meets the price, ownership and occupation requirements set by the rules. It can save money, but never having bought a home before does not by itself make the relief available.
The price matters. So does your past ownership history. A purchase above the limit does not get part of the relief.
That catches people out.
What the official source says
HMRC’s manual says that, from 1 April 2025, relief applies to a residential property costing £500,000 or less where the buyer intends it to be their only or main home. The legislation sets the detailed test.
- A qualifying first-time buyer paying £300,000 or less pays no SDLT.
- For a qualifying purchase above £300,000 but no more than £500,000, SDLT is 5% of the amount above £300,000.
- A home costing more than £500,000 does not qualify for this relief.
- A first-time buyer is an individual who has not previously owned the relevant kind of interest in a home.
- Past ownership outside England, Wales and Northern Ireland can count too.
- The buyer must intend to occupy the property as their only or main home.
- The price test can take account of linked purchases, such as connected parts of the same deal.
HMRC’s manual also records earlier limits. Between 23 September 2022 and 31 March 2025, the maximum price was £625,000. From 22 November 2017 to 22 September 2022, it was £500,000.
What this means in practice
For a current qualifying purchase, the first £300,000 is taxed at 0%. Only the slice from £300,001 to £500,000 is taxed at 5%.
Think in bands, not one rate on the full price. That is the key point.
- Check the full amount you are paying before assuming the relief applies.
- Check every buyer’s property history, not just your own.
- Make sure the property is intended to be your main place to live.
- Put the relief claim in the SDLT return, or amend the return if needed.
Shared ownership buyers can also be eligible. HMRC says this has applied since the relief began where the buyer chooses to pay SDLT on the property’s market value. Since 29 October 2018, the relief has also covered certain approved shared ownership purchases where SDLT is paid in stages and the conditions for that route are met. That extension applied back to 22 November 2017.
How to analyse it
Start with the facts, not the label on the estate agent’s advert. Calling yourself a first-time buyer does not settle the tax result.
- Is the property a home for the purpose of the relief?
- Is the total relevant price £500,000 or less?
- Are there other linked parts of the deal which affect that total?
- Has any buyer previously owned a qualifying interest in a home anywhere in the world?
- Will every buyer use the new property as their only or main home?
- Is this a shared ownership purchase with its own SDLT rules?
- Has the claim been included in the SDLT return or an amendment?
If more than one person buys together, this is especially important. One buyer’s earlier property ownership can stop the relief.
Example
Amira is buying her first home for £400,000 on 10 April 2025. She has never owned a home and plans to live there. If the other conditions are met, she pays 0% on the first £300,000 and 5% on £100,000. Her SDLT under the relief is £5,000.
Now change one fact: the price is £510,000. First-time buyers’ relief is not available because the price exceeds £500,000. It is not reduced relief. It falls away.
Why this can be difficult in practice
The hard part is often the word “first-time”. A previous home abroad may matter, even if it was bought years ago. So can a past share in a property.
You might think a small interest cannot count. It may still need checking.
- Do not assume that never owning a UK home is enough.
- Do not assume that relief is available on a £500,001 purchase.
- Do not ignore another property purchase that forms part of the same arrangement.
- Do not treat HMRC’s manual as the law; it states HMRC’s view of the legislation.
Shared ownership is another area where the detail matters. The source confirms that relief can apply, but how it works can depend on the SDLT method chosen and the conditions attached to that method. The detail matters.
Key takeaways
- From 1 April 2025, the maximum price for the relief is £500,000.
- Qualifying buyers pay no SDLT up to £300,000, then 5% up to £500,000.
- You must be a qualifying first-time buyer and intend to live in the property.
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 57B — first-time buyers’ relief and how it is claimed
- FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 1 — conditions for first-time buyers’ relief
- FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 4 — the relief’s residential stamp duty rate bands
- FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 6 — who counts as a first-time buyer
- FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 7 — how linked purchases affect the price limit
- FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 9 — what counts as a home for relief
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
- Shared ownership purchases have separate rules. This introduction confirms that relief can apply, but does not explain the detailed calculation or claim route.
- Whether a past interest means someone has owned a home before can be fact-sensitive, especially for property outside the UK, inherited interests and trusts.
- The supplied legislation is current only to 17 November 2025. Check the official legislation before relying on this page 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 agreed purchase price and any linked purchases
- details of every buyer and any previous property interests
- evidence that the property will be the buyer’s only or main home
- the SDLT return and any amendment made to claim relief
- shared ownership documents where the purchase is through a scheme
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 First-time buyer stamp duty relief: the £500,000 limit explained [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 57B - first-time buyers’ relief and how it is claimed https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/57B/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 1 - conditions for first-time buyers’ relief https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6ZA/paragraph/1/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 4 - the relief’s residential stamp duty rate bands https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6ZA/paragraph/4/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 6 - who counts as a first-time buyer https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6ZA/paragraph/6/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 7 - how linked purchases affect the price limit https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6ZA/paragraph/7/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 Schedule 6ZA para 9 - what counts as a home for relief https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/schedule/6ZA/paragraph/9/2025-11-17 HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm29805 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. HMRC guidance is HMRC's 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 - Shared ownership purchases have separate rules. This introduction confirms that relief can apply, but does not explain the detailed calculation or claim route. - Whether a past interest means someone has owned a home before can be fact-sensitive, especially for property outside the UK, inherited interests and trusts. - The supplied legislation is current only to 17 November 2025. Check the official legislation before relying on this page 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 1 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: First-time buyer stamp duty relief: the £500,000 limit explained
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