Stamp duty for contractors
Contractors pay the same stamp duty as anyone — it’s based on the property and buyer type, not how you earn. The 2025/26 bands run 0% to 12%, first-time buyers get relief to £500,000, and buy-to-let adds a 5% surcharge.
The bands that apply to you
Stamp Duty Land Tax (England & NI) is banded: you pay each rate only on the slice of the price within it. The standard bands are 0% to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5m and 12% above. Your contractor status doesn’t change any of this — it’s the property and buyer type that matter.
For the full breakdown and worked examples, see the stamp duty calculator.
Buying your own home
- First-time buyer: 0% to £300,000, then 5% to £500,000 (no relief above £500,000).
- Home mover: standard bands above.
- Remortgaging your existing home is generally SDLT-free.
Buying a buy-to-let or second home
If you’re adding to your property holdings — a buy-to-let or second home of £40,000 or more — a 5% surcharge is added to every band on top of the standard rates. For contractors building a portfolio, that surcharge is a real budgeting line.
- SDLT depends on the property and buyer type, not your income.
- First-time buyer relief: 0% to £300k, 5% to £500k.
- Buy-to-let / second home: +5% on every band from £40k.
- Use the calculator below for your exact figure.
Budgeting for it alongside everything else
Stamp duty is payable in cash on completion and cannot be added to the mortgage. It therefore sits alongside the deposit, the legal fees, the survey and the moving costs as money that must exist before you exchange — not after.
That is the point at which purchases most often become uncomfortable. Work out the whole upfront requirement before settling on a price bracket, and remember that a higher purchase price raises both the deposit and the duty at the same time. The stamp duty calculator gives the figure; add it to everything else before deciding what you can afford.
The surcharge trap when you move
The additional rate applies where you end up owning more than one residential property — which catches ordinary moves if the sale and purchase do not complete on the same day, because you briefly own two homes.
Where the former main residence is sold within the permitted window, a refund of the surcharge can usually be claimed. There is a deadline attached, so it is worth knowing before completion rather than afterwards. If you are keeping the old property deliberately rather than selling, let-to-buy covers that route, and the surcharge is a permanent part of its arithmetic rather than a refundable one.
Tax, answered
Do contractors pay different stamp duty?+
No. SDLT is based on the purchase price and whether you’re a first-time buyer, home mover or buying an additional property — not on how your income is structured.
How much is the buy-to-let surcharge?+
An extra 5% is added to every band on additional properties of £40,000 or more, on top of the standard rates. The calculator shows the combined figure.
Is stamp duty payable on a remortgage?+
No — a straight remortgage of a property you already own doesn’t trigger SDLT, because ownership doesn’t change.
Can I add stamp duty to my mortgage?+
Not directly — it is payable in cash on completion. In some cases people borrow slightly more against the property to free up cash elsewhere, but that increases the loan and the monthly payment and is not the same as financing the duty itself. Plan for it as an upfront cost alongside the deposit.