A flat in Greece
A small share of a flat abroad. Its value decides the bill.
£0
gap between low and high
Low £20,000High £50,000
For mortgage brokers
Stamp duty belongs in the fact-find. Not at completion.
Your client checks their own stamp duty on their phone before you recommend. You see straight away if the deposit is at risk, without giving a word of tax advice.
£350,000 home · higher rate applies
Deposit planned£35,000
Extra stamp duty+£0
Deposit left£35,000
90% →90%loan-to-value
Same client, same house, a different mortgage. Scroll to see it happen.
0%
of purchases checked in 2026 were non-standard, so nearly half needed a closer look*
£0k
median gap between the best and worst case on a non-standard purchase*
3 in 10
non-standard cases could owe nothing in the best case, if the right relief applies*
*Stamp.Expert data for checks completed in 2026, up to November 2026. Non-standard means something in the client's answers makes the stamp duty uncertain. Best and worst cases are the two ends of the range shown to the client; the amount actually due depends on the facts and, for non-standard purchases, on advice from a tax adviser. Stamp.Expert does not give tax advice.
Timing
When does your client first see the bill?
Usually
Fact-findAdviceOfferExchangeCompleteThe bill appears
With Stamp
Fact-findAdviceOfferExchangeCompleteThe bill appears
The conveyancer usually works it out between exchange and completion. By then the mortgage is arranged.
The deposit squeeze
A surprise at exchange lands on your case.
- The extra comes out of the deposit.
- The loan-to-value moves, and the product may no longer fit.
- The case comes back to you, and the chain waits.
Consumer Duty
You can't advise on tax. You can make sure the client checks.
"Go beyond assessing whether the customer meets a lender's criteria."
"Avoid causing foreseeable harm."
A five-figure tax bill found a week before completion is foreseeable. Stamp lets you raise it without answering it.
FCA letter to mortgage intermediaries, January 2025.
Advice drift
The Ombudsman ruled on a broker who answered the question.
An adviser told a client the higher rate would not apply. It did, and the complaint against the network was upheld: he had given the impression he was advising on stamp duty.
With Stamp you never give a view. The client answers, and an independent tax firm advises where needed.
Financial Ombudsman Service, reported by Mortgage Solutions, August 2019.
Before and after
Reworked at exchange. Or right first time.
✗ Usually
- Stamp duty assumed from a quick calculator
- A surprise between exchange and completion
- The case reworked, the product changed
- Nothing on file about stamp duty
✓ With Stamp
- The client checks properly at the fact-find
- Complications known before the application
- Deposit and loan-to-value planned once
- A timestamped record for compliance
Cases
See all six cases →
They looked simple at the fact-find.
Her home, his buy-to-let
The replacement-home test applies to each buyer.
£0
gap between low and high
Low £53,750High £108,750
A company buying
Possibly let to someone connected with the company.
£0
gap between low and high
Low £101,250High £178,500
What you get
The adviser who raised it early.
Fewer reworked cases
The deposit you plan with is the one that survives.
Consumer Duty evidence
The same record on every purchase.
No advice risk
Independent tax firms advise, not you.
A better conversation
You're the adviser who raised it early.
"Better to have a well-informed client prepared for potential higher buying costs."
Robert Sinclair, AMI, January 2025.
Running a network or a large firm?
Networks and platforms →
Make it policy. Every adviser, every purchase.
One process across the network, so every compliance file holds the same evidence.
Questions
Questions brokers ask.
Am I giving tax advice by sending this?
No. You prompt the client to check. Any advice comes from an independent tax firm they choose.
Isn't stamp duty the conveyancer's job?
They file it, usually after exchange, when the mortgage is already arranged.
What if the result is non-standard?
Plan affordability on the higher figure while the client decides on advice.
Does it fit our CRM?
Stamp has an API and works alongside broker systems. Ask us about yours.
Is there a cost to my firm?
No set-up fee and no subscription. We'll explain the model on a call.
Book a demo
Ask for it in the form and we'll send it over.
Put stamp duty in the fact-find. Book a demo.
A short call with the client journey on a phone and the record for your compliance file.
- No set-up fee
- No subscription
- Works with your systems
Ask for it in the form and we'll send it over.