The higher rates and property abroad

The rule

The higher rates for additional dwellings apply when a buyer of a residential property will own more than one dwelling at the end of the day of the purchase and isn't replacing their main home. Since 31 October 2024 the surcharge has been 5%, charged on every slice of the price, including the part that would otherwise be taxed at nothing.

Two details catch people out:

• It's worldwide. A flat in Greece, a share of the family home in Lagos or a holiday apartment in Spain all count. What matters is ownership, not where the property is.
• Couples count together. Married couples and civil partners are treated as one unit, so a property owned by one spouse can bring the higher rates into a purchase made by the other.

There's a threshold: an interest in a dwelling worth less than £40,000 is ignored. That makes the value of a small share the deciding fact.

What to ask the client

• Do you, your spouse or civil partner, or anyone buying with you, own any property, or a share of one, anywhere in the world?
• If so, roughly what is your share worth today?
• Is this purchase replacing your main home, and has your current home been sold?
• Have you inherited a share of a property recently?

Asked out loud on a busy phone call, the first question often gets "no" from a client who doesn't think of a share in a family flat abroad as "owning property".

What goes wrong: a real case

A couple were buying a home for about £600,000. One of them owned a low-value share of a flat in Greece. Whether that share was worth more or less than £40,000 decided whether the higher rates applied.

A single-figure calculator showed either £20,000 or £50,000, depending on how one "other property" question was answered. It didn't ask where the property was or what the share was worth. Stamp showed the client both ends, £20,000 to £50,000, with the reason, and suggested they confirm the value with a tax adviser before exchange.

How Stamp handles it

Stamp asks the client directly, on their own phone, in plain English, including about property abroad and its value. Where the answer could go either way, it doesn't guess. It shows a low and a high figure and explains which answer makes the difference, and the client chooses whether to take advice from an independent firm on the panel or their own adviser.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax: buying an additional residential property
• HMRC Stamp Duty Land Tax Manual: higher rates for additional dwellings (SDLTM09800)

This article is general information, not tax advice. Rules change: check the date above. Last updated October 2026.