What is stamp duty?

When you buy a property or land, you usually pay tax on it. While often referred to as stamp duty, that’s only the name in England and Northern Ireland – it’s different in Scotland and Wales, where it’s known as ‘land and buildings transaction tax’ and ‘land transaction tax’ respectively.

Since 2014, all the home nations have had a progressive stamp duty rate system. This means that instead of paying a single rate on the entire property price, depending on the cost of the property you’re buying you might end up paying one rate on a certain portion of the property and a different rate on another.