Stamp Duty in Scotland (LBTT)

Scotland doesn't charge stamp duty. It charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax instead, with its own rates, first-time buyer relief and second-home surcharge, and that surcharge just went up again.

The Additional Dwelling Supplement rose from 6% to 8% on 5 December 2024.

Additional Dwelling Supplement

8% (on the full purchase price)

ADS raised from 6%

5 December 2024

First-time buyer relief threshold

£175,000 (no price cap)

Example: £300,000 second home

£28,600 total LBTT

How LBTT works

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced stamp duty in Scotland in April 2015. It's charged in bands, the same principle as SDLT in England: you only pay each rate on the slice of the price that falls inside that band, not the whole purchase price¹. Revenue Scotland, not HMRC, administers LBTT, though your solicitor still normally files and pays it for you as part of the conveyancing process.

LBTT rates in Scotland

These bands haven't changed recently. On a £250,000 house, a standard buyer pays 0% on the first £145,000, then 2% on the remaining £105,000, for a total of £2,100. It's the surcharge on second homes that has moved, twice in the past couple of years.

First-time buyer relief in Scotland

Scottish first-time buyers pay 0% on the first £175,000, instead of the standard £145,000 nil-rate band, then the same 2%, 5%, 10% and 12% bands as everyone else above that point. That's £30,000 of extra relief compared to a home mover, worth a flat £600 saving (2% of £30,000) for any purchase of £175,000 or more.

Unlike England, there's no upper price cap on eligibility. A first-time buyer spending £900,000 in Scotland still gets relief on the first £175,000, while a first-time buyer spending the same amount in England gets none at all, because England's relief cuts off entirely above £500,000. See our first-time buyer stamp duty guide for how England's relief works.

Additional Dwelling Supplement for second homes

Buy a second home, holiday let or buy-to-let property in Scotland and you pay the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) on top of standard LBTT. ADS rose from 6% to 8% on 5 December 2024², making it the steepest flat-rate second-home surcharge of any UK nation, above England's 5% and higher than Wales's lowest higher-rate band.

Like England's surcharge, ADS applies to the whole purchase price, not just the amount above a threshold. It doesn't apply if the property is your only home, including as a first-time buyer, or if you're inheriting via a will. If you're replacing your main residence but haven't sold the old one yet, you pay ADS upfront and can reclaim it once you sell, as long as the sale happens within 36 months of the new purchase⁴. That 36-month window applies to transactions from 1 April 2024 onward; it replaced a shorter 18-month window that applied before that date, and it's longer than England's 3-year (36-month) window, which works out to roughly the same length in practice.

To reclaim, you (or your solicitor or agent) submit an ADS repayment claim to Revenue Scotland showing the sale of your previous main residence within the window. Our stamp duty refund guide covers the equivalent England process; Scotland's reclaim mechanics differ in the fine detail but follow the same underlying logic: pay upfront, then get it back once you've sold.

LBTT examples at different price points

£200,000 second home:

• Standard LBTT: £1,100 (0% on £145,000, 2% on the remaining £55,000)
• 8% ADS: £16,000
• Total: £17,100

£300,000 second home:

• Standard LBTT: £4,600 (0% on £145,000, 2% on the next £105,000 = £2,100, 5% on the remaining £50,000 = £2,500)
• 8% ADS: £24,000
• Total: £28,600

£400,000 second home:

• Standard LBTT: £13,350 (0% on £145,000, 2% on £105,000 = £2,100, 5% on £75,000 = £3,750, 10% on £75,000 = £7,500)
• 8% ADS: £32,000
• Total: £45,350

For comparison, a first-time buyer paying £200,000 for their only home pays just £500 in LBTT (0% on the first £175,000, 2% on the remaining £25,000), no ADS involved at all. Our stamp duty guide for England and Northern Ireland has the equivalent figures south of the border.

When is LBTT due?

You must submit your LBTT return and pay the tax within 30 days of the effective date of the transaction, almost always the completion date³. That's more than double England's 14-day SDLT deadline, which gives Scottish buyers and their solicitors a bit more breathing room to get the return filed correctly. As in England, your solicitor normally handles this as part of conveyancing: they calculate the LBTT due, submit the return through Revenue Scotland's online system, and pay from your funds. Miss the deadline and Revenue Scotland can charge penalties and interest, similar in principle to HMRC's approach for late SDLT, though the exact penalty amounts differ.

Scotland compared to England and Wales

All three nations share the same marginal-band principle, but every number differs. Scotland's standard thresholds are lower than England's, its first-time buyer relief is lower in cash terms but has no price cap, and its 8% ADS is the highest flat second-home surcharge of the three. England charges a flat 5% surcharge on top of standard rates (see our second homes guide), while Wales has never used a flat surcharge at all, taxing additional properties under separate banded higher rates running from 5% to 17% (see our Wales stamp duty guide). Use the stamp duty calculator to compare exact figures for your own purchase.

Scotland's £145,000 nil-rate band sits between England's £125,000 and Wales's £225,000, but that ordering flips once you look at the total tax bill on a typical family home, since Scotland's bands climb to higher rates sooner than England's do. There's no substitute for running your actual purchase price through each nation's rules; the England guide, this page, and the Wales guide each have worked examples at common price points.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Additional Dwelling Supplement in Scotland?

The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) is an 8% surcharge on the full purchase price when buying a second home, buy-to-let or holiday let in Scotland. It rose from 6% to 8% on 5 December 2024.

Do first-time buyers pay less LBTT in Scotland?

Yes. First-time buyer relief raises the 0% threshold from £145,000 to £175,000, saving up to £600, and unlike England there's no upper property price limit on eligibility.

Is Scotland's second-home surcharge higher than England's?

Yes. Scotland's 8% ADS is higher than England's 5% surcharge. Wales doesn't use a flat rate at all, so a direct comparison depends on the price of the property.

Can I reclaim ADS if I sell my old home after buying a new one?

Yes, as long as you sell your previous main residence within 36 months of the new purchase (this window extended from 18 months for transactions completing on or after 1 April 2024). You submit the repayment claim to Revenue Scotland once the sale has gone through.

Does ADS apply to inherited property in Scotland?

Inheriting a property or a share in one generally counts as ownership when Revenue Scotland decides whether a later purchase triggers ADS, similar to how England and Wales treat inherited shares. There's a specific small-share disregard for low-value inherited interests, and the detail of exactly where that line sits is worth checking against current Revenue Scotland guidance if it applies to your situation, since the rules around small inherited shares have been reviewed and updated in recent years.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-31. Rates verified against gov.uk, Revenue Scotland and gov.wales.