Free Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) Calculator for Scotland
How much tax will you pay on a Scottish property? Enter your purchase price below and you will have the answer in seconds, worked out with the current Revenue Scotland bands, first-time buyer relief and the Additional Dwelling Supplement.
Source: Revenue Scotland residential LBTT bands, first-time buyer relief and Additional Dwelling Supplement guidance.
In Scotland, stamp duty is called Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, or LBTT for short. It replaced UK Stamp Duty Land Tax in Scotland on 1 April 2015, and it has its own bands, its own first-time buyer relief and its own surcharge for second homes and buy-to-let. The calculator above covers all of them.
How LBTT Is Calculated
Like stamp duty in England, you do not pay one rate on the whole price. The price is cut into slices, and each slice is taxed at its own rate. The first slice, up to £145,000, is tax free for a standard buyer. The next slice, up to £250,000, is taxed at 2%, and the slices above that at 5%, 10% and 12%.
Take a £280,000 home. The first £145,000 costs nothing, the next £105,000 is taxed at 2% (£2,100), and the final £30,000 is taxed at 5% (£1,500). Total LBTT: £3,600. The calculator above shows this slice-by-slice breakdown for your own price.
LBTT is a tax applied to residential and commercial land and buildings transactions (including commercial properties and commercial leases) where a chargeable interest is acquired.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced UK Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in Scotland from 1 April 2015.
Source: Revenue Scotland
LBTT Rates in Scotland
These standard LBTT rates apply to residential property purchases in Scotland, and they have been in place since 1 April 2021.
| Property Value | 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% |
| Over £750,000 | 12% |
Second Homes and Buy-to-Let: the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS)
If you buy a second home, holiday home or holiday let in Scotland for £40,000 or more, the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) applies. Unlike England's surcharge, which is added to each band, the ADS is a flat 8% of the whole purchase price, paid on top of the standard LBTT. The rate rose from 6% to 8% on 5 December 2024.
That makes Scotland's second-home tax one of the heaviest in the UK, and it changes the maths quickly. The table below shows the effective rate on each slice once the 8% is included.
| Property Value Portion | Effective LBTT Rate (including 8% ADS) |
|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 8% (0% + 8%) |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 10% (2% + 8%) |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 13% (5% + 8%) |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 18% (10% + 8%) |
| Over £750,000 | 20% (12% + 8%) |
Here is the same £280,000 home bought as a buy-to-let or second home. The standard LBTT is £3,600, exactly as above. The ADS adds 8% of the full £280,000, which is £22,400. Total LBTT: £26,000. The supplement is more than six times the underlying tax, which is why experienced investors price it in before they offer, alongside the other typical costs for buy-to-let landlords. It is one of the first numbers to check when weighing up any investment property north of the border.
Who Pays LBTT and When?
All property buyers in Scotland pay LBTT when they complete a purchase above the thresholds. There are exemptions for some situations and reliefs for some buyers, like first-time buyers.
There is no LBTT to pay if the property costs less than £40,000 (any buyer), less than £145,000 (standard buyers), or less than £175,000 (first-time buyers).
If you use a solicitor, they will file the return for you. An LBTT return must be submitted and any LBTT due paid to Revenue Scotland before the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland can register the title in your name. In practice that means the tax is settled at completion, not after it.
LBTT for First-Time Buyers
First-time buyers in Scotland get a relief that raises the tax-free threshold from £145,000 to £175,000. The saving is worth up to £600 on any property costing £175,000 or more. That is smaller than the equivalent relief in England, where first-time buyers can save up to £5,000, but the rates either side of the border are not comparable like for like, because the whole band structure is different. At Property Investments UK we publish the price, rent and yield data that sits alongside these taxes for towns across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
England, Northern Ireland and Wales
LBTT only applies in Scotland. The rest of the UK charges its own property purchase taxes, with different names, bands and rates, so use the right calculator for the property's location:
- England & Northern Ireland Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Calculator
- Wales Land Transaction Tax (LTT) Calculator
Scottish LBTT FAQs
Is there stamp duty in Scotland?
Not by that name. Scotland replaced stamp duty with Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) on 1 April 2015. It works the same way, with the price taxed in slices, but the bands, rates and reliefs are all set by the Scottish Government rather than Westminster.
How much is the tax on a second home in Scotland?
The standard LBTT plus the Additional Dwelling Supplement, which is 8% of the entire purchase price. On a £280,000 second home that means £3,600 of standard LBTT plus £22,400 of ADS: £26,000 in total. The calculator above works it out for any price.
Do first-time buyers pay LBTT?
Not on the first £175,000. Above that, the normal bands apply, so the relief saves a first-time buyer up to £600 compared with a standard buyer.
When do you pay LBTT?
At completion. Your solicitor files the LBTT return and pays Revenue Scotland, and the title cannot be registered in your name until that is done.
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