Buying UK property from overseas usually costs you more in stamp duty than it costs someone living here. If you are not UK resident for tax purposes, you pay a 2% surcharge on top of the normal rates, from the first pound.
This article explains what the surcharge is, who counts as non-UK resident, how much you will pay, when it is due, and how to claim the 2% back.
Will you have to pay the 2% surcharge?
Stamp Duty Land Tax, or SDLT, is the tax you pay when you buy property in England or Northern Ireland above a certain price. If you live abroad, you pay the normal rates plus a surcharge of 2%, and it applies from the first pound.
Whether you pay comes down to one thing: days. You are treated as non-resident if you spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before you complete. A day counts if you were here at the end of it.
There is a second day count that matters later, and it is easy to muddle with the first. The count above decides what you pay at completion. A wider one decides whether you end up treated as UK resident and can claim the 2% back. More on that further down.
For now, the useful habit is to start tracking your days the moment you begin looking, because you may need to prove them.
Bear in mind, having a UK passport does not exempt you, neither does British National Overseas (BNO) status, a visa, or the right to live here. HMRC looks only at where you actually were, day by day. So if you hold a British passport but you have spent the last few years in Hong Kong, you pay the surcharge like any other overseas buyer.
How much extra will it actually cost you?
Most overseas buyers are buying an investment property while already owning a home somewhere else. That matters, because the surcharge does not sit on its own. It stacks on top of the 5% higher rate for owning an additional property, and that is where the numbers climb.
Each band applies only to the slice of the price that falls inside it. Here are the non-resident rates that apply from April 2025.
Compared with a UK landlord buying the same property, the only extra you pay for living abroad is that 2% surcharge. On real purchase prices, it works out like this.
The last column is the one to sit with. You cannot usually add stamp duty to your mortgage, so the whole bill is cash you need in a UK account within 14 days of completing. On a £500,000 buy-to-let, that is £50,000 ready to go, and £10,000 of it is there purely because you live abroad.
One more thing catches overseas buyers at this stage. Moving money across borders takes time, and exchange rates shift while it does. Send your funds early and agree the amount in good time, so a slow transfer does not turn into a missed deadline.
Can you get the 2% back later?
Yes, though it is safer to treat it as a maybe than to build it into your budget. The refund exists for people who pay as non-residents and then become UK resident soon after.
Here the day count is wider than the one at completion. You qualify if you spend at least 183 days in the UK in any continuous 365-day period that falls between 364 days before completion and 365 days after it. Because your return is due within 14 days, most people who will eventually qualify still pay the surcharge first, then claim it back once the days add up.
Two situations cover most overseas buyers. If you are moving to the UK soon, you pay now and reclaim later, so keep your evidence from the start. If you are a landlord who plans to stay abroad, you will not reach the day count, so treat the 2% as a permanent cost and budget for it.
A few limits are worth knowing. Only individuals can reclaim, so companies and most trusts cannot. If there is more than one buyer, every one of you has to meet the residence test. And you have to amend your return within two years of completion, so a claim left too late is simply lost. You can start on the GOV.UK surcharge refund page.
What only overseas buyers have to deal with
A few practical points apply to you that a UK buyer never has to think about.
The 14-day clock starts on the effective date, usually completion, and it does not pause for a delayed international transfer. Your solicitor normally files the return for you and pays HMRC from the funds you provide, but the money still has to be in the right account on time.
Where and how you buy changes things too. Scotland and Wales sit outside this surcharge, but they are not the same rules minus 2%. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax, each with its own bands and its own extra charge on additional homes, so do not assume the England logic carries across if you are comparing locations.
The surcharge also skips property under £40,000, mixed-use property such as a shop with a flat above it, and short leases with 7 years or less to run. And if you buy 6 or more dwellings in a single transaction, the purchase is taxed at the non-residential rates, which carry no 2% surcharge at all. That is one reason larger portfolio buyers sometimes structure a bulk purchase as a single deal.
Before you exchange: a quick checklist
Most of the trouble here comes from budgeting for the wrong number or missing a deadline. Run through this before you commit:
- Check the 183-day count for each buyer, yourself included.
- Assume the surcharge applies, and set aside the full bill in cash.
- Confirm the exact figure with your solicitor against the GOV.UK SDLT calculator.
- Agree who goes on the title before you make an offer.
- Send money from overseas several days early to cover transfer delays.
- Keep a dated record of your UK days, with boarding passes and statements to back it up.
- Plan around the surcharge as a real cost, and treat any refund as a bonus.
When timing is the real problem
What you do next depends on your available cash. The full amount - including standard rates, a 5% higher-rates surcharge if it applies, and a 2% non-resident surcharge - must be paid within 14 days of completion. Usually, you cannot add this to your mortgage.
If you have already set aside the money, treat it as a fixed cost and continue. If funds are tight or a slow non-resident mortgage is holding up your money, you can either increase your deposit, delay the exchange, or use a short-term bridging loan to cover the gap.
A bridging loan is mainly based on the property and your exit plan, not your UK income. This means many specialist lenders will consider overseas buyers without a UK salary.
For more information on bridging loans, see our guide to how bridging loans work for non-UK residents.
Key takeaways
- If you live abroad, you almost always pay a 2% stamp duty surcharge on property in England and Northern Ireland, on top of every other rate.
- Your days in the UK decide it, while nationality, a passport, and a visa make no difference.
- You are non-resident if you spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before completion.
- A wider count, 183 days in any continuous 365-day period from 364 days before completion to 365 days after, decides any refund.
- Most overseas buyers buy an additional property, so the 2% stacks on the 5% higher rate.
- The full stamp duty bill is cash due within 14 days, and you usually cannot add it to your mortgage.
- Only individuals can reclaim the 2%, within two years and with solid evidence, so companies and most trusts cannot.
- Scotland and Wales have no equivalent surcharge.
- Bridging finance can cover the 14-day cash timing, though it is expensive, so weigh it against the risk of losing the deal.
FAQs
How much is the stamp duty for a non-resident in the UK?
You pay the standard rates plus a 2% surcharge in England and Northern Ireland. For an additional property, the usual overseas case, the total is about £32,000 on £350,000, £50,000 on £500,000, and £80,000 on £750,000.
What is the 5-year non-resident rule?
That rule relates to Capital Gains Tax for people who leave and return to the UK. It has nothing to do with stamp duty. The stamp duty residence test is the 183-day test over the 12 months before completion, so do not confuse the two.
Who is exempt from stamp duty in the UK?
No surcharge applies below £40,000, or on mixed-use property and leases of 7 years or less. Certain buyers, such as UK Real Estate Investment Trusts, are also outside it. Standard stamp duty can still apply once the price passes the nil-rate band.
When do you pay stamp duty after buying?
You must file the stamp duty return and pay HMRC within 14 days of completion. The deadline runs from the completion date, and a late return brings interest and penalties, so the cash needs to be ready before you complete.
Can you claim the 2% surcharge back?
Yes, if you are an individual who becomes UK resident by spending 183 days in the UK in any continuous 365-day period in the window. Amend your return within two years and keep evidence. Companies and most trusts cannot.
