Calculator
Company buy-to-let stamp duty calculator: the surcharge, worked properly
A limited company pays the additional-property rates on every residential purchase it makes, first property included, and first-time-buyer relief never applies. England and Northern Ireland add a 5% surcharge to the SDLT bands, Scotland adds the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement, and Wales runs a separate higher-rates LTT schedule. Enter the price and jurisdiction below for the company's actual bill.
Band breakdown
| From | To | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 | £125,000 | 5% | £6,250 |
| £125,000 | £250,000 | 7% | £8,750 |
| £250,000 | £300,000 | 10% | £5,000 |
Stamp duty is the single biggest acquisition cost on most BTL deals. Speak to us before exchange.
Why companies always pay the surcharge
The additional-property surcharge was designed around individuals: buy a second home and you pay extra, replace your main residence and you do not. A company has no main residence, so the legislation treats every company residential purchase as an additional property from the outset. There is no exemption for the company's first acquisition, no relief for first-time buyers who happen to be buying through an SPV, and no refund route of the kind an individual gets after selling a previous main home. On a £250,000 purchase in England, the 5% surcharge alone adds £12,500 before the standard bands are counted, real money that belongs in the company's cash requirement from day one, next to the deposit.
Stamp duty in the company cash plan
Stamp duty is the second-largest cash item in most company purchases after the deposit, and it cannot be mortgaged. The usual funding route is the same director's loan that carries the deposit into the SPV, documented so the lender can see provenance, and repayable to you tax-free as the company builds cash. For incorporations, where the company buys your personally held property at market value, the duty bill lands on the company at the surcharged rates even though no money may change hands, which is why we model the full transfer cost, duty, capital gains and the refinance leg, before anyone commits.
The detailed treatment, including Scotland and Wales, multiple dwellings and the transfer-in scenario, is in our stamp duty guide for limited company buy-to-let. Deposit routes are covered in the company deposit guide, and the lending side lives on the limited company buy-to-let mortgages hub.
Company stamp duty questions
How much is stamp duty on a company buy-to-let?
In England and Northern Ireland, the standard residential SDLT bands plus a 5% surcharge on the full price. In Scotland, LBTT plus the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement. In Wales, LTT at the higher-rates schedule. There is no nil band for the surcharge element: it applies from the first pound on every residential purchase a company makes. The calculator above applies the correct schedule for the jurisdiction you select.
Does a limited company pay stamp duty when buying a house?
Yes, always, and at the additional-property rates. An individual buying their first and only home can use the standard bands and possibly first-time-buyer relief; a company can do neither. The surcharge applies to a company's first purchase exactly as it does to its fiftieth, because companies are treated as additional-property buyers by default in every UK jurisdiction.
How is stamp duty calculated for limited companies?
Work the standard residential bands on the price, then add the company surcharge on the whole price: 5% in England and Northern Ireland, 8% ADS in Scotland, or the built-in higher rates in Wales. One caution at the top end: company purchases of residential property over £500,000 can fall into a flat 15% SDLT rate unless the property is used in a qualifying rental business, which genuine buy-to-let normally is. We flag it whenever a case goes near the threshold.
Can the company add stamp duty to the mortgage?
Not directly, lenders advance against the property value, not the purchase costs. The company needs the stamp duty as cash alongside the deposit, usually routed in through the same documented director's loan. On a £300,000 purchase in England that means budgeting £20,000 of duty on top of a £75,000 deposit at 75% loan to value, before valuation and legal costs.
Is stamp duty deductible against the company's tax?
Not against rental income year to year. The duty forms part of the property's acquisition cost, so it reduces the chargeable gain when the company eventually sells, your accountant will treat it as capital, not revenue. Factor it into the cash requirement and the deal appraisal rather than the rental cashflow.
Does the surcharge apply when I transfer my own property into my company?
Yes. A transfer into a connected company is treated as a purchase at full market value, regardless of what actually changes hands, and the company pays duty with the surcharge on that market value. It is one of the two big costs of incorporating an existing portfolio, alongside capital gains tax, and it is why the transfer maths deserves modelling before the paperwork starts.