If you are buying a home in Scotland, you do not pay stamp duty — you pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), Scotland’s own property-purchase tax, collected by Revenue Scotland. It works on the same slice principle as stamp duty but has different bands, a more generous first-time buyer threshold, and a much steeper 8% surcharge on second homes and buy-to-lets. This guide sets out exactly what you will pay in 2026, with worked examples by price, and shows how it compares to England’s SDLT.
This is the LBTT due on common purchase prices in Scotland for 2026. A standard home mover pays nothing up to £145,000, then £1,100 on a £200,000 home, £4,600 on £300,000 and £8,350 on £350,000. First-time buyers pay slightly less thanks to relief up to £175,000. A second-home or buy-to-let buyer adds the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on the whole price — which is why the right-hand column is so much larger.
| Property price | Home mover | First-time buyer | Second home / buy-to-let* |
|---|---|---|---|
| £145,000 | £0 | £0 | £11,600 |
| £150,000 | £100 | £0 | £12,100 |
| £175,000 | £600 | £0 | £14,600 |
| £200,000 | £1,100 | £500 | £17,100 |
| £250,000 | £2,100 | £1,500 | £22,100 |
| £300,000 | £4,600 | £4,000 | £28,600 |
| £325,000 | £5,850 | £5,250 | £31,850 |
| £350,000 | £8,350 | £7,750 | £36,350 |
| £400,000 | £13,350 | £12,750 | £45,350 |
| £500,000 | £23,350 | £22,750 | £63,350 |
| £650,000 | £38,350 | £37,750 | £90,350 |
| £750,000 | £48,350 | £47,750 | £108,350 |
| £1,000,000 | £78,350 | £77,750 | £158,350 |
*Second-home and buy-to-let figures include the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on the whole price, on top of standard LBTT. Figures assume a standard residential purchase and are rounded; confirm your exact liability with your solicitor.
LBTT replaced UK Stamp Duty Land Tax in Scotland in April 2015 and is administered by Revenue Scotland, not HMRC. Like stamp duty, it is charged on a slice (progressive) basis: each band’s rate applies only to the portion of the price that falls within it, not to the whole price. So on a £300,000 home you pay 0% on the first £145,000, 2% on the next £105,000 and 5% on the final £50,000 — £4,600 in total, an effective rate of about 1.5%. Understanding this matters, because your headline band is not your actual rate.
These are the residential LBTT bands for a main-residence purchase in 2026.
| Portion of price | LBTT rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% |
| Above £750,000 | 12% |
First-time buyers in Scotland get a raised nil-rate band of £175,000 (versus £145,000 for other buyers) — so no LBTT on the first £175,000, and standard rates above it. The maximum saving is £600, and crucially there is no upper property-price limit on the relief. That is more generous at the top end than England, where first-time buyer relief vanishes entirely above £500,000. To qualify, all buyers must be first-time buyers and intend to occupy the property as their only or main residence.
This is the rule that catches out investors and second-home buyers moving to Scotland from England, because it is much heavier here. The Additional Dwelling Supplement is 8% of the entire purchase price (since 5 December 2024), charged on top of standard LBTT, whenever you buy an additional residential property — a second home or buy-to-let — priced at £40,000 or more. Unlike the banded main tax, ADS applies to the whole price from the first pound.
The numbers are striking. A £150,000 buy-to-let — a common entry price in Glasgow or the Leeds-style value postcodes — carries just £100 of standard LBTT but £12,000 of ADS, for £12,100 total. A £250,000 second home pays £2,100 standard plus £20,000 ADS. For comparison, England’s additional-property surcharge is 5%, so Scotland’s 8% adds materially more — a factor every investor must build into the deposit budget, because ADS is payable in cash at completion.
Replacing your main home? If you buy before selling your previous main residence, you pay the ADS up front but can reclaim it provided you sell the old home within 36 months and it was your main residence in the 36 months before the new purchase.
An LBTT return must be filed and the tax paid within 30 days of the effective date — usually the date of entry (the Scottish term for completion). Your solicitor prepares the return, submits it to Revenue Scotland and pays from the completion funds, so you do not deal with Revenue Scotland directly. As with stamp duty, LBTT cannot be added to your mortgage — budget for it in cash alongside your deposit and the other costs of buying.
The systems rhyme but differ in the details that cost money. Scotland’s nil-rate band (£145,000) is higher than England’s standard £125,000, and its first-time-buyer relief has no price cap. But Scotland’s higher bands bite sooner and harder — a 10% rate from £325,000, where England’s equivalent portion is 5% — so more expensive homes are taxed more heavily in Scotland. And the 8% ADS is well above England’s 5% surcharge. If you are comparing a purchase either side of the border, or moving from England, run both: our stamp duty guide covers the England and Northern Ireland (SDLT) rules in the same detail.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax — Scotland’s stamp duty, collected by Revenue Scotland since April 2015. Slice-based rates: 0% to £145,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £325,000, 10% to £750,000, 12% above. First-time buyers pay nothing to £175,000.
Nothing up to £145,000; ~£1,100 on £200,000, £4,600 on £300,000, £8,350 on £350,000 for a main home. Add the 8% ADS on the whole price if you already own a property.
Scotland’s 8% surcharge (since 5 Dec 2024) on additional homes — second homes and buy-to-lets — charged on the whole price at £40,000+, on top of LBTT. Much steeper than England’s 5%. Reclaimable if you replace your main home within 36 months.
Not up to £175,000 (a raised nil-rate band, max saving £600), then standard rates above — with no upper price cap on the relief, unlike England.
Within 30 days of the date of entry (completion). Your solicitor files with Revenue Scotland and pays from completion funds; it can’t be added to the mortgage.