In this article
Buy a home in Wales and you do not pay Stamp Duty. You pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT), a separate Welsh tax with its own rates, its own thresholds, and its own rules for second homes. It replaced Stamp Duty in Wales in April 2018 and is collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority. If you are moving to or within Wales, this is the figure to get right early, and it is the one English calculators most often get wrong.
What is Land Transaction Tax?
Land Transaction Tax is the tax you pay when you buy a property or land in Wales over a certain price. It works like its English counterpart in shape, a banded, progressive tax where each rate applies only to the slice of the price within that band, but the bands, thresholds and reliefs are set by the Welsh Government, not Westminster. Your solicitor normally calculates it, files the LTT return, and pays it on your behalf as part of completion.
LTT rates and bands in 2026
For a standard residential purchase, someone buying a home to live in, who will not own another property at the end of the day, these are the current main rates, which have applied since October 2022:
| Portion of the price | LTT rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £225,000 | 0% |
| £225,001 to £400,000 | 6% |
| £400,001 to £750,000 | 7.5% |
| £750,001 to £1,500,000 | 10% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 12% |
So on a £320,000 home, you pay nothing on the first £225,000 and 6% on the remaining £95,000, £5,700 in total. You can check any price with our Stamp Duty and LTT calculator.
How LTT is different from Stamp Duty
Three differences catch people out. First, Wales has the highest starting threshold in the UK at £225,000, so many buyers pay nothing at all, but the rate jumps straight to 6% above it, which can make mid-priced homes more expensive than they would be in England. Second, there is no first-time buyer relief in Wales: a first-time buyer and a long-time owner buying the same home pay the same LTT. Third, the LTT return and payment are due within 30 days of completion, rather than the 14 days that apply to Stamp Duty in England.
Do I pay the higher rate? Second homes and additional properties
If you will own more than one residential property at the end of the transaction, a second home, a buy-to-let, or a holiday let, you usually pay the higher residential rates. This is the part most online guides get wrong. Wales does not simply add a flat surcharge to the standard rates. Since December 2024, it uses a completely separate band table for higher-rate purchases:
| Portion of the price | Higher rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £180,000 | 5% |
| £180,001 to £250,000 | 10% |
| £250,001 to £400,000 | 12.5% |
| £400,001 to £750,000 | 15% |
| £750,001 to £1,500,000 | 17% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 17% |
Because the table is different all the way down, starting at £180,000, not £225,000, you cannot work out a higher-rate bill by taking the standard figure and adding a percentage. If you have seen a “4% surcharge” figure online, it is out of date.
“I’m moving home, will I be charged the higher rate?”
If you are simply replacing your main home, selling one and buying another, the higher rates should not apply, even though for a moment around completion you might technically own two homes. The complication arises when the timing does not line up: if you complete on your new home before your old one has sold, you will usually have to pay the higher rates upfront. The good news is that you can reclaim the higher-rate element if you sell your previous main home within 36 months. This is one of the most common sources of confusion in the threads we see, and it is worth raising with your solicitor early if your sale and purchase are not completing on the same day.
Worked examples
- A first home in Cardiff, £320,000. Standard rates: £0 on the first £225,000, 6% on the next £95,000 = £5,700. The same buyer would pay no more for being or not being a first-time buyer.
- A buy-to-let in Swansea, £200,000. Higher rates: 5% on the first £180,000 (£9,000) plus 10% on the next £20,000 (£2,000) = £11,000. On standard rates the same property would cost nothing, which shows how significant the higher-rate table is.
- A mover who completes before selling, £350,000. Pays the higher rates upfront, then reclaims the higher-rate element from the Welsh Revenue Authority once the previous main home sells within 36 months.
Why English stamp duty calculators get Wales wrong
Most stamp duty calculators online are built for England and default to Stamp Duty Land Tax. Used for a Welsh purchase, they apply the wrong thresholds, the wrong bands, and the wrong second-home rules, and some openly admit they do not cover Wales. The result can be a figure that is hundreds or thousands of pounds out. For a Welsh purchase, use a Welsh tool: our Stamp Duty and LTT calculator covers both, and the Welsh Revenue Authority publishes the official LTT rates and bands.
How we help
Our conveyancing team acts for buyers across South Wales and the South West, and we calculate, file and pay your LTT as a standard part of handling your purchase. If you are buying an additional property, or moving and worried about the higher-rate timing, we will tell you where you stand before you commit. You can also read our guide to how long conveyancing takes, or see how we handle a purchase on our buying a property page. To get started, request a callback and we will come back to you.
A note on figures: the fees and figures in this article are correct as at the date of publication shown on this article. Court fees, taxes and other charges change from time to time, so please check the current figures with the relevant official source before relying on them.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax in Wales?
Land Transaction Tax. Stamp Duty Land Tax does not apply to property purchases in Wales - it was replaced by LTT in April 2018, collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority, with its own rates and thresholds.
Is there first-time buyer relief in Wales?
No. Unlike England, Wales has no special first-time buyer relief. All buyers of a main home use the same standard rates, though the u00a3225,000 nil-rate threshold is the highest in the UK.
How much is the higher rate of LTT on a second home?
Wales uses a separate higher-rate band table, not a flat surcharge. It starts at 5% up to u00a3180,000 and rises through 10%, 12.5%, 15% and 17%. You cannot work it out by adding a percentage to the standard rate.
If I buy my new home before selling my old one, can I get the higher rate back?
Usually yes. If you pay the higher rates because your old main home has not yet sold, you can reclaim the higher-rate element provided you sell the previous home within 36 months.