Payotte study · Second homes · 135 areas

The surcharge on a second home or buy-to-let, area by area

How much more you pay in purchase tax when you already own a home, on the average home of 135 UK areas: England's 5-point surcharge, Scotland's ADS, Wales's higher rates.

Computed by Payotte from the UK House Price Index (July 2026) and the purchase tax rates of each nation, read on the official pages on 2026-10-14.

In short

Buying the average home as a second property costs the most extra in Kensington and Chelsea (£61,632 more), City of Westminster (£43,839 more), Camden (£40,758 more), and the least in City of Kingston upon Hull (£6,776), County Durham (£7,022). On the same £400,000 home, the extra is £20,000 in England, £32,000 in Scotland, £19,450 in Wales.

All 135 areas

#	Area	Nation	Average price	Tax as a home mover	Tax with another home	Surcharge
1	Kensington and Chelsea	England	£1,232,640	£67,014	£128,646	£61,632
2	City of Westminster	England	£876,788	£33,839	£77,679	£43,839
3	Camden	England	£815,159	£30,758	£71,516	£40,758
4	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	£738,048	£26,902	£63,805	£36,902
5	Wandsworth	England	£686,076	£24,304	£58,608	£34,304
6	St Albans	England	£646,781	£22,339	£54,678	£32,339
7	Merton	England	£615,890	£20,795	£51,589	£30,795
8	Hackney	England	£605,729	£20,286	£50,573	£30,286
9	Southwark	England	£572,478	£18,624	£47,248	£28,624
10	Lambeth	England	£536,623	£16,831	£43,662	£26,831
11	Lewisham	England	£488,658	£14,433	£38,866	£24,433
12	City of Edinburgh	Scotland	£303,965	£4,798	£29,115	£24,317
13	Buckinghamshire	England	£479,736	£13,987	£37,974	£23,987
14	Greenwich	England	£462,589	£13,129	£36,259	£23,129
15	East Hertfordshire	England	£457,417	£12,871	£35,742	£22,871
16	Tower Hamlets	England	£447,796	£12,390	£34,780	£22,390
17	Horsham	England	£441,654	£12,083	£34,165	£22,083
18	East Dunbartonshire	Scotland	£271,608	£3,180	£24,909	£21,729
19	Mid Sussex	England	£430,777	£11,539	£33,078	£21,539
20	North Hertfordshire	England	£418,857	£10,943	£31,886	£20,943
21	Brighton and Hove	England	£408,948	£10,447	£30,895	£20,447
22	Trafford	England	£400,688	£10,034	£30,069	£20,034
23	Stratford-on-Avon	England	£396,753	£9,838	£29,675	£19,838
24	Croydon	England	£390,041	£9,502	£29,004	£19,502
25	New Forest	England	£384,977	£9,249	£28,498	£19,249
26	Adur	England	£380,120	£9,006	£28,012	£19,006
27	Warwick	England	£369,220	£8,461	£26,922	£18,461
28	Test Valley	England	£368,131	£8,407	£26,813	£18,407
29	West Lothian	Scotland	£227,354	£1,647	£19,835	£18,188
30	Central Bedfordshire	England	£356,758	£7,838	£25,676	£17,838
31	South Hams	England	£355,483	£7,774	£25,548	£17,774
32	Highland	Scotland	£221,136	£1,523	£19,214	£17,691
33	City of Bristol	England	£352,262	£7,613	£25,226	£17,613
34	Harborough	England	£347,010	£7,351	£24,701	£17,351
35	South Gloucestershire	England	£341,833	£7,092	£24,183	£17,092
36	Solihull	England	£337,112	£6,856	£23,711	£16,856
37	Bedford	England	£333,824	£6,691	£23,382	£16,691
38	Crawley	England	£332,384	£6,619	£23,238	£16,619
39	Babergh	England	£330,523	£6,526	£23,052	£16,526
40	Milton Keynes	England	£330,419	£6,521	£23,042	£16,521
41	Wiltshire	England	£328,746	£6,437	£22,875	£16,437
42	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	£204,894	£1,198	£17,589	£16,392
43	Moray	Scotland	£204,008	£1,180	£17,501	£16,321
44	Dorset	England	£325,154	£6,258	£22,515	£16,258
45	Mid Suffolk	England	£315,898	£5,795	£21,590	£15,795
46	North Somerset	England	£313,638	£5,682	£21,364	£15,682
47	South Staffordshire	England	£310,862	£5,543	£21,086	£15,543
48	York	England	£310,781	£5,539	£21,078	£15,539
49	Eastleigh	England	£310,283	£5,514	£21,028	£15,514
50	Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole	England	£310,094	£5,505	£21,009	£15,505
51	City of Glasgow	Scotland	£193,675	£974	£16,468	£15,494
52	Cheshire East	England	£309,121	£5,456	£20,912	£15,456
53	Teignbridge	England	£302,368	£5,118	£20,237	£15,118
54	Rutland	England	£298,916	£4,946	£19,892	£14,946
55	Worthing	England	£297,200	£4,860	£19,720	£14,860
56	South Lanarkshire	Scotland	£185,267	£805	£15,627	£14,821
57	West Northamptonshire	England	£291,929	£4,596	£19,193	£14,596
58	Blaby	England	£289,282	£4,464	£18,928	£14,464
59	Cardiff	Wales	£272,252	£2,835	£17,175	£14,340
60	Fife	Scotland	£179,134	£683	£15,013	£14,331
61	West Devon	England	£285,834	£4,292	£18,583	£14,292
62	Exeter	England	£282,696	£4,135	£18,270	£14,135
63	Somerset	England	£282,062	£4,103	£18,206	£14,103
64	Falkirk	Scotland	£173,046	£561	£14,405	£13,844
65	East Suffolk	England	£276,301	£3,815	£17,630	£13,815
66	Cornwall	England	£275,642	£3,782	£17,564	£13,782
67	Shropshire	England	£275,232	£3,762	£17,523	£13,762
68	South Ayrshire	Scotland	£171,905	£538	£14,291	£13,752
69	Charnwood	England	£273,945	£3,697	£17,395	£13,697
70	North Yorkshire	England	£270,463	£3,523	£17,046	£13,523
71	Cheshire West and Chester	England	£270,104	£3,505	£17,010	£13,505
72	Breckland	England	£268,905	£3,445	£16,891	£13,445
73	Clackmannanshire	Scotland	£166,005	£420	£13,701	£13,280
74	Powys	Wales	£237,762	£766	£13,910	£13,144
75	Hinckley and Bosworth	England	£260,187	£3,009	£16,019	£13,009
76	Warrington	England	£260,040	£3,002	£16,004	£13,002
77	Tendring	England	£259,568	£2,978	£15,957	£12,978
78	North Northamptonshire	England	£257,807	£2,890	£15,781	£12,890
79	North East Derbyshire	England	£253,810	£2,691	£15,381	£12,691
80	North Lanarkshire	Scotland	£158,591	£272	£12,959	£12,687
81	Manchester	England	£252,309	£2,615	£15,231	£12,615
82	Leeds	England	£247,695	£2,454	£14,839	£12,385
83	Bury	England	£242,437	£2,349	£14,471	£12,122
84	Flintshire	Wales	£215,892	£0	£12,051	£12,051
85	Southampton	England	£235,977	£2,220	£14,018	£11,799
86	Wrexham	Wales	£212,778	£0	£11,786	£11,786
87	City of Peterborough	England	£234,690	£2,194	£13,928	£11,735
88	Birmingham	England	£234,257	£2,185	£13,898	£11,713
89	Dudley	England	£232,196	£2,144	£13,754	£11,610
90	Westmorland and Furness	England	£230,449	£2,109	£13,631	£11,522
91	Salford	England	£229,462	£2,089	£13,562	£11,473
92	Nuneaton and Bedworth	England	£228,142	£2,063	£13,470	£11,407
93	Coventry	England	£227,679	£2,054	£13,438	£11,384
94	Leicester	England	£227,322	£2,046	£13,413	£11,366
95	Telford and Wrekin	England	£226,893	£2,038	£13,383	£11,345
96	Sefton	England	£224,289	£1,986	£13,200	£11,214
97	City of Plymouth	England	£223,161	£1,963	£13,121	£11,158
98	East Ayrshire	Scotland	£138,971	£0	£11,118	£11,118
99	Wirral	England	£221,849	£1,937	£13,029	£11,092
100	Ipswich	England	£221,445	£1,929	£13,001	£11,072
101	Wolverhampton	England	£220,559	£1,911	£12,939	£11,028
102	East Riding of Yorkshire	England	£220,408	£1,908	£12,929	£11,020
103	Sheffield	England	£219,713	£1,894	£12,880	£10,986
104	Oldham	England	£217,171	£1,843	£12,702	£10,859
105	Walsall	England	£215,329	£1,807	£12,573	£10,766
106	Bassetlaw	England	£214,281	£1,786	£12,500	£10,714
107	Northumberland	England	£212,563	£1,751	£12,379	£10,628
108	Tameside	England	£209,723	£1,694	£12,181	£10,486
109	City of Aberdeen	Scotland	£130,689	£0	£10,455	£10,455
110	Kirklees	England	£208,987	£1,680	£12,129	£10,449
111	Newcastle upon Tyne	England	£207,547	£1,651	£12,028	£10,377
112	Sandwell	England	£205,830	£1,617	£11,908	£10,292
113	North Tyneside	England	£205,744	£1,615	£11,902	£10,287
114	Bolton	England	£204,379	£1,588	£11,807	£10,219
115	Lancaster	England	£202,966	£1,559	£11,708	£10,148
116	Rossendale	England	£199,759	£1,495	£11,483	£9,988
117	Wakefield	England	£199,347	£1,487	£11,454	£9,967
118	Halton	England	£194,727	£1,395	£11,131	£9,736
119	Wigan	England	£194,551	£1,391	£11,119	£9,728
120	Rotherham	England	£191,496	£1,330	£10,905	£9,575
121	Calderdale	England	£191,385	£1,328	£10,897	£9,569
122	Liverpool	England	£189,036	£1,281	£10,733	£9,452
123	Knowsley	England	£188,527	£1,271	£10,697	£9,426
124	St Helens	England	£185,154	£1,203	£10,461	£9,258
125	Belfast	Northern Ireland	£184,768	£1,195	£10,434	£9,238
126	Bradford	England	£182,766	£1,155	£10,294	£9,138
127	Bolsover	England	£182,759	£1,155	£10,293	£9,138
128	North Lincolnshire	England	£179,954	£1,099	£10,097	£8,998
129	Doncaster	England	£172,305	£946	£9,561	£8,615
130	Cumberland	England	£170,966	£919	£9,468	£8,548
131	South Tyneside	England	£161,559	£731	£8,809	£8,078
132	Gateshead	England	£155,550	£611	£8,389	£7,778
133	Hyndburn	England	£141,430	£329	£7,400	£7,072
134	County Durham	England	£140,447	£309	£7,331	£7,022
135	City of Kingston upon Hull	England	£135,511	£210	£6,986	£6,776

How Payotte computed it

Difference between the tax of a buyer who will own another home after the purchase and that of a home mover, on the same average price. England and Northern Ireland: standard SDLT rates plus 5 points; Scotland: LBTT plus the Additional Dwelling Supplement; Wales: LTT higher residential rates.

Prices: average prices of the UK House Price Index for July 2026, published by HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services and the ONS. Each area links to its page, with the ten-year trend and a calculator. The data is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with a link to this page.

Questions

How much is the second home surcharge on the average home in England?

From £6,776 (City of Kingston upon Hull) to £61,632 (Kensington and Chelsea).

How much is the second home surcharge on the average home in Scotland?

From £10,455 (City of Aberdeen) to £24,317 (City of Edinburgh).

How much is the second home surcharge on the average home in Wales?

From £11,786 (Wrexham) to £14,340 (Cardiff).

How much is the second home surcharge on the average home in Northern Ireland?

From £9,238 (Belfast) to £9,238 (Belfast).

Other Payotte studies

Sources

UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services Northern Ireland, ONS). Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2020. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
GOV.UK, Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property rates (HMRC); Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (HMRC, last updated 1 April 2025)
Revenue Scotland, LBTT residential property (rates and bands as of 1 April 2021, first-time buyer relief); Scottish Budget 2025-2026: ADS rate 8% for contracts on or after 5 December 2024
Welsh Government, Land Transaction Tax rates and bands (main residential rates from 10 October 2022, higher residential rates from 11 December 2024)

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