What next?
LTT is the Welsh equivalent of stamp duty. Here is what usually follows it.
What your result means
LTT due is the amount payable to the Welsh Revenue Authority within 30 days of completion. Like every property transaction tax in the UK it is cash from savings, not something a lender will add to the loan. Rate table used matters more in Wales than anywhere else: main and higher rates are two separate tables rather than one table with a surcharge, so switching between them changes the thresholds as well as the percentages. The effective rate is the tax as a share of the price, and band breakdown shows the slices behind it.
Why this one is different
Welsh rates are read from the Welsh table, not inferred from an English one with points added — that shortcut is the usual source of a wrong Welsh figure, because the higher-rates table here has thresholds of its own rather than a surcharge bolted onto the main bands. The result names the band table it used, so you can see which set of rates produced the number.
No first-time buyer relief, but the highest nil-rate band in the UK
Wales is the only part of the UK with no first-time buyer scheme at all. The Welsh Government’s position is that a £225,000 nil-rate band — against £125,000 in England and £145,000 in Scotland — does more for first-time buyers than a targeted relief would.
Below about £250,000 that is plainly true: a Welsh buyer at £225,000 pays nothing where an English mover pays £2,000. Above it the picture reverses, because the 6% rate from £225,001 climbs faster than England’s 2% from £125,001. At £300,000 a Welsh first-time buyer pays £4,500 and an English one pays nothing.
How it works
LTT is charged in slices: the price is cut at each threshold, the band rate applies only to the portion inside that band, and the pieces are added together. Buying a main or only home uses the main residential table, which starts at 0% up to £225,000. Buying a property when you will own more than one dwelling moves the whole calculation onto the higher residential table, which starts at 5% from the first pound and has entirely different thresholds. There is no first-time buyer relief and no non-resident surcharge.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the purchase price you have agreed.
- Choose whether this is a main home or an additional property — that switches the rate table, not just the rate.
- Read the tax due, which table was used, the effective rate and the band-by-band breakdown.
- Buying in England, Northern Ireland or Scotland instead? Use the stamp duty calculator or the Scottish LBTT calculator.
Formula
slice = the portion of the price inside that band, band rate = the rate from the main residential table, or from the separate higher residential table where the buyer will own more than one dwelling and the price is at least £40,000.
Example calculation
A £300,000 home bought as a main residence in Wales:
£75,000 @ 6% = £4,500
LTT due = £4,500
Effective rate = 1.50% of the price
The same £300,000 as a second home moves to the higher table: £180,000 at 5%, £70,000 at 8.5% and £50,000 at 10% — £19,950, more than four times the main-rate bill.
Frequently asked questions
Do first-time buyers pay less LTT in Wales?＋
No. Wales has no first-time buyer relief of any kind — a first-time buyer pays exactly what a mover pays. The compensation is the £225,000 nil-rate band, the highest in the UK, which means most Welsh first-time buyers pay nothing at all.
Is the higher rate a surcharge on top of the normal rates?＋
No, and this is where reading across from England goes wrong. Wales replaced its flat 4% surcharge in December 2024 with a self-contained band table: 5% to £180,000, 8.5% to £250,000, 10% to £400,000, 12.5% to £750,000, 15% to £1.5m and 17% above. The thresholds differ from the main table as well as the rates.
Can I reclaim the higher rates if I sell my old home?＋
Yes. If you complete on a new main residence before the old one has sold, you pay the higher rates upfront and can claim the difference back from the Welsh Revenue Authority once the previous main home sells, provided that happens within 36 months.
When does LTT have to be paid?＋
Within 30 days of the effective date, usually completion — a longer window than the 14 days SDLT allows in England. Your solicitor files the return through the Welsh Revenue Authority portal and pays from completion funds. Late filing attracts penalties.
Does LTT apply to commercial property?＋
Yes, on a separate non-residential table that also covers mixed-use purchases. This calculator handles residential transactions only, so do not use it for a shop, a farm or a flat above a business.
Is there a surcharge for non-UK residents?＋
No. The 2% non-resident surcharge exists only in SDLT, for England and Northern Ireland. Neither Wales nor Scotland charges one.
Related calculators
Assumptions & limitations
Every figure here comes from a simplified model. Keep these limits in mind when reading your result:
- Wales only. England and Northern Ireland charge SDLT and Scotland charges LBTT, each with different thresholds and reliefs.
- Residential purchases. Non-residential and mixed-use transactions use a separate table and are not covered, nor is the LTT charged on the rent element of a lease.
- Rates are those in force at August 2026: main residential rates from 10 October 2022, higher residential rates from 11 December 2024. The Welsh Government can change them at any Budget — check the date stamp below.
- Assumes a single dwelling and no relief. Multiple dwellings relief, which Wales retains in modified form, and the various acquisition and charity reliefs are not modelled.
- The higher table is applied whenever the additional-property option is chosen and the price is at least £40,000. Whether you are in fact replacing a main residence, and so can reclaim later, is a question of fact this tool cannot answer.