Stamp duty in London: what buyers pay on the median home in each borough
On HM Land Registry prices paid in July 2026, Stamp Duty Land Tax on the median London home ranges from £9,000 in Barking and Dagenham to £29,000 in Kensington and Chelsea for a buyer moving home. In 19 of 32 boroughs the median price is above £500,000, so first-time buyers at that price get no relief.
By GableIndex team · 2026-11-02 · Data as of HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, July 2026 (released 28 Oct 2026); SDLT rates as published on GOV.UK, unchanged at Budget 2026
The short version: we applied the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) rates for England to the median price paid in each London borough in July 2026. A buyer who will own only that home pays £9,000 on the Barking and Dagenham median of £380,000 and £29,000 on the Kensington and Chelsea median of £780,000. First-time buyers can claim relief only up to £500,000: in the 13 boroughs at or below that price, they pay between £4,000 and £10,000; in the other 19 boroughs, a first-time buyer paying the median price pays the full standard amount. Someone who already owns a home pays a further 5% of the whole price, which takes the bill to between £28,000 and £68,000.
Why this is being discussed
A wave of videos breaking down the full cost of buying in London's zones 2 to 4 spread on X over the weekend. One post sharing two of them passed 330,000 views by Monday. Replies focused on the stamp duty line: "87k in stamp duty 😭", and calls to "abolish or massively reform stamp duty for first time buyers". Others argued the examples were large houses and that many first-time buyers look further out. Our data shows what the tax is on the price that sits in the middle of each borough's sales.
The rates
SDLT is charged in England and Northern Ireland; Wales and Scotland have their own taxes. For a buyer who will own only one home, GOV.UK lists: 0% up to £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000, 5% from £250,001 to £925,000, 10% from £925,001 to £1.5 million and 12% above that. First-time buyers pay 0% up to £300,000 and 5% from £300,001 to £500,000, but only if the price is £500,000 or less (HMRC guidance). Buyers who already own a residential property usually pay 5% on top of the standard rates. The Budget 2026 tax overview of 28 October made technical SDLT changes but did not change these rates or thresholds.
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SDLT on the median price paid, by London borough
| Borough | Median price paid, Jul 2026 | Sales | SDLT, home mover | SDLT, first-time buyer | SDLT, additional home | Home mover SDLT as % of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington and Chelsea | £780,000 | 69 | £29,000 | not eligible | £68,000 | 3.7% |
| City of Westminster | £737,500 | 110 | £26,875 | not eligible | £63,750 | 3.6% |
| Richmond upon Thames | £650,000 | 167 | £22,500 | not eligible | £55,000 | 3.5% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £640,000 | 104 | £22,000 | not eligible | £54,000 | 3.4% |
| Hackney | £630,000 | 120 | £21,500 | not eligible | £53,000 | 3.4% |
| Camden | £620,000 | 87 | £21,000 | not eligible | £52,000 | 3.4% |
| Waltham Forest | £597,500 | 136 | £19,875 | not eligible | £49,750 | 3.3% |
| Wandsworth | £592,500 | 284 | £19,625 | not eligible | £49,250 | 3.3% |
| Barnet | £584,000 | 162 | £19,200 | not eligible | £48,400 | 3.3% |
| Brent | £580,000 | 103 | £19,000 | not eligible | £48,000 | 3.3% |
| Islington | £580,000 | 99 | £19,000 | not eligible | £48,000 | 3.3% |
| Haringey | £555,000 | 118 | £17,750 | not eligible | £45,500 | 3.2% |
| Lambeth | £540,000 | 219 | £17,000 | not eligible | £44,000 | 3.1% |
| Ealing | £540,000 | 131 | £17,000 | not eligible | £44,000 | 3.1% |
| Merton | £535,000 | 125 | £16,750 | not eligible | £43,500 | 3.1% |
| Southwark | £530,000 | 178 | £16,500 | not eligible | £43,000 | 3.1% |
| Hounslow | £527,000 | 109 | £16,350 | not eligible | £42,700 | 3.1% |
| Harrow | £517,500 | 86 | £15,875 | not eligible | £41,750 | 3.1% |
| Hillingdon | £515,000 | 125 | £15,750 | not eligible | £41,500 | 3.1% |
| Redbridge | £500,000 | 96 | £15,000 | £10,000 | £40,000 | 3.0% |
| Bromley | £495,000 | 245 | £14,750 | £9,750 | £39,500 | 3.0% |
| Kingston upon Thames | £495,000 | 110 | £14,750 | £9,750 | £39,500 | 3.0% |
| Lewisham | £494,000 | 156 | £14,700 | £9,700 | £39,400 | 3.0% |
| Enfield | £477,500 | 110 | £13,875 | £8,875 | £37,750 | 2.9% |
| Havering | £461,000 | 188 | £13,050 | £8,050 | £36,100 | 2.8% |
| Greenwich | £460,000 | 145 | £13,000 | £8,000 | £36,000 | 2.8% |
| Sutton | £450,000 | 141 | £12,500 | £7,500 | £35,000 | 2.8% |
| Croydon | £447,500 | 201 | £12,375 | £7,375 | £34,750 | 2.8% |
| Tower Hamlets | £445,000 | 158 | £12,250 | £7,250 | £34,500 | 2.8% |
| Bexley | £422,500 | 151 | £11,125 | £6,125 | £32,250 | 2.6% |
| Newham | £420,000 | 85 | £11,000 | £6,000 | £32,000 | 2.6% |
| Barking and Dagenham | £380,000 | 63 | £9,000 | £4,000 | £28,000 | 2.4% |
Price: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, median price paid for standard residential sales (category A), July 2026, by local authority district. The City of London had fewer than 10 sales and is not shown. SDLT: GableIndex calculation from the GOV.UK residential rates for England; the non-resident surcharge and other reliefs are not included. Full district list: England & Wales house prices by district.
Worked example
Lambeth, median £540,000, buyer moving home: 0% on the first £125,000 = £0; 2% on the next £125,000 = £2,500; 5% on the remaining £290,000 = £14,500. Total: £17,000. A first-time buyer paying the same price cannot claim relief, because the price is above £500,000, so they pay the same £17,000. At £500,000 in Redbridge, the relief brings the bill from £15,000 to £10,000.
Outside London
The £500,000 line matters most in London. Of the 294 districts in England on our table, 25 had a July median above £500,000: the 19 London boroughs and six districts in Surrey and Hertfordshire (Elmbridge, Hertsmere, Mole Valley, St Albans, Three Rivers and Waverley). In 145 English districts the median was £300,000 or less, so a first-time buyer at the median pays no SDLT. The middle English district had a median of £310,000, on which a home mover pays £5,500.
What the numbers don't tell you
- The full cost of buying. SDLT is one line. Deposits, legal fees, surveys and mortgage costs are not in our data.
- Your price. A borough median is the middle of one month's sales, across flats and houses. Monthly medians move with the mix of homes sold; a borough with under 100 sales in a month can move noticeably from month to month.
- Every buyer. We do not include the 2% surcharge for non-UK residents, shared ownership, or other reliefs. HMRC's SDLT calculator works out a specific case.
- Wales. Welsh districts pay Land Transaction Tax, not SDLT, so they are left out of the England figures above.
Sources: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, July 2026, released 28 Oct 2026, contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. GOV.UK, Stamp Duty Land Tax residential property rates; HMRC, SDLT relief guidance; HM Treasury, Budget 2026 overview of tax legislation and rates (28 Oct 2026). Posts on X, 31 Oct to 1 Nov 2026.
See also: England & Wales house prices by district · Cheapest and most expensive places to rent · Rental yields in England & Wales · Landlord tax rise 2027: rental yields in England & Wales · Methodology · All articles
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Figures are a snapshot and will change. Information only. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice.