Wales
Land Transaction Tax higher rates
Wales does not add a surcharge to its main bands: it swaps the whole table for a dearer one.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
A buyer of a home in Wales who will own two or more dwellings at the end of the day pays Land Transaction Tax on the higher residential rates, a separate table in force since 11 December 2024: 5% up to £180,000, 8.5% to £250,000, 10% to £400,000, 12.5% to £750,000, 15% to £1,500,000 and 17% above. There is no nil band, so the Welsh Revenue Authority’s example of a £260,000 second home costs £15,950, against £2,100 at the main rates. Dwellings anywhere in the world count. Spouses and civil partners are treated as one buyer, and when several people buy together, one of them owning another home is enough to put the whole purchase on the higher rates. Companies pay them on every dwelling from £40,000. Below £40,000 they never apply, and a buyer replacing a main residence sold within 3 years can avoid them or claim the difference back.
LTT higher rates on a second home
LTT at the higher rates
£15,950
| At main rates instead | £2,100 |
| Extra cost of the other home | £13,850 |
| Bill as a share of the price | 6.1% |
Higher residential rates: a separate band table in force since 11 December 2024.
A table of its own since 11 December 2024
| Portion of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £180,000 | 5% |
| £180,001 to £250,000 | 8.5% |
| £250,001 to £400,000 | 10% |
| £400,001 to £750,000 | 12.5% |
| £750,001 to £1,500,000 | 15% |
| Above £1,500,000 | 17% |
England adds a fixed surcharge to every band of its ordinary table, and Scotland adds a flat supplement on the whole price. Wales does neither. It publishes a second table with its own thresholds and rates and applies it from the first pound. The thresholds of the higher table do not even match the main ones: the first band stops at £180,000, the second at £250,000, and only from £400,000 upwards do the two tables share their limits.
The current higher table took effect on 11 December 2024, when each of its rates was raised. The previous version had applied from 22 December 2020 to 10 December 2024. Purchases with an effective date in 2026 use the table above.
What it costs compared with the main rates
| Price | Main rates | Higher rates | Extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100,000 | £0 | £5,000 | £5,000 |
| £180,000 | £0 | £9,000 | £9,000 |
| £260,000 | £2,100 | £15,950 | £13,850 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £24,950 | £17,450 |
| £500,000 | £18,000 | £42,450 | £24,450 |
| £900,000 | £51,750 | £96,200 | £44,450 |
The extra cost is largest, in proportion, on cheaper homes. Below the main nil band of £225,000, a buyer of a single home pays nothing while an investor pays the whole higher bill: £9,000 on a £180,000 terrace in the Valleys, every pound of it due only because of the other property. Above the nil band, the gap keeps growing in pounds but shrinks as a share of the bill.
Against the other two nations, the picture depends on the price. On a £250,000 buy-to-let the three bills are £14,950 in Wales, £15,000 in England and £22,100 in Scotland.
Who is caught
The test looks at the end of the day of the purchase. If any buyer will then own more than one dwelling worth £40,000 or more, anywhere in the world, and the new home is not replacing a main residence, the higher rates apply to the whole price. A flat in Bristol counts as much as a cottage on Anglesey; so does an apartment in Spain.
Spouses and civil partners
A married couple or civil partners living together are treated as one buyer. A home owned by one of them counts as owned by the other, even if only one name is on the new purchase. Buying a seaside flat in Saundersfoot in your own name, while your wife owns the family house, is an additional purchase.
Joint buyers who are not a couple
When several people buy together, one of them owning another dwelling puts the whole purchase on the higher table. Two friends who pool their savings for a house in Cardiff, one of whom still owns a flat in Leeds, pay £19,950 on a £300,000 house rather than £4,500.
A parent as co-buyer, or as joint borrower
This is the case the Welsh Revenue Authority illustrates in its guidance, and the outcome depends on one detail. A parent who becomes a co-owner of the child’s first home, while keeping their own, makes the purchase an additional one: the higher rates apply to the whole price. A parent who signs a joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgage, sharing the loan but not the ownership, does not own a dwelling interest in the new home, and the purchase stays on the main rates. For a £230,000 flat, the difference between the two arrangements is £12,950.
Companies
A company, or any buyer that is not an individual, pays the higher rates on every dwelling from £40,000, including its first. There is no main residence to replace, so nothing is ever refunded. Unlike England, Wales has no flat company rate on expensive homes; the higher table simply applies at every price.
A landlord’s budget, purchase by purchase
For an investor building a portfolio in Wales, the higher table is the normal table: every purchase after the first home pays it. Take a landlord who lives in her own house in Bridgend and buys three flats to let over a few years, at £150,000, £190,000 and £240,000. The tax is £7,500, £9,850 and £14,100, or £31,450 in total. At the main rates, the first two flats would have cost nothing and the third £900.
That cost belongs in the yield calculation from the start, because it is paid in cash on completion and cannot be refunded. Buying the same flats through a company changes nothing to the LTT, since a company pays the higher rates on every dwelling anyway; the choice between personal and company ownership turns on other taxes, which this site does not cover.
Who is not caught
- Cheap dwellings. Properties bought for less than £40,000 never pay the higher rates, and a dwelling worth less than that is ignored when counting what a buyer already owns.
- Mixed-use purchases. A dwelling bought together with commercial premises goes on the non-residential table, where the higher residential rates have no place.
- Buyers replacing their main residence. If the previous main home was sold within 3 years before the purchase, the main rates apply. If it is sold within 3 years after, the difference between the two tables is refunded; the refund guide covers the claim.
Paying, and what to keep
The higher rates are declared on the ordinary LTT return, filed with the payment within 30 days of completion. The return records whether the higher rates apply, and the Welsh Revenue Authority can check that answer after completion. Keep a note of what each buyer owned on the day, with values for any small property you treated as below £40,000. To try other prices, the LTT calculator shows both tables side by side, and the technical guidance covers the rarer cases.