Land and Buildings Transaction Tax on Scottish purchases: residential, investment (with the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement) and commercial. Rates verified against Revenue Scotland, and the band-by-band breakdown is shown so you can check the working. Scotland pays LBTT, not stamp duty; UK-wide calculators get this wrong.
Rates per Revenue Scotland: residential bands effective 1 April 2021, non-residential 25 January 2019, ADS 8% from 5 December 2024, all unchanged at the 2026-27 Scottish Budget. Illustrative only; reliefs (multiple dwellings, ADS replacement rules) and lease LBTT are not modelled. Not tax advice.
Fund the purchase: one working dayWe arrange business and investment finance only. For a home purchase you need a residential mortgage broker.
LBTT is marginal, like income tax. Each slice of the price is taxed at its band's rate and the slices are added up; nobody pays the top rate on the whole price. The Additional Dwelling Supplement is the opposite: a flat 8% of the entire price, on top, when you're buying an additional or investment dwelling for £40,000 or more. That asymmetry is what most bad calculators muddle.
For deal appraisals the sequence matters: LBTT and ADS are cash costs on day one and lenders will not fund them, so they come off your deposit. Factor them in before bidding, not after. LBTT and ADS are charged on the price you pay, not the value, which matters if you are buying at a discount: see below market value bridging loans and the BMV bridging calculator. Buying to refurbish and let? The bridge to let calculator puts the tax alongside the bridge, the works and the refinance. More on how Scottish purchases proceed, or work out what the rent supports borrowing-wise before you commit.
Select "Residential investment / additional property" above and the calculator adds ADS to the LBTT bands automatically, showing it as its own line so you can see how much of the bill it is. ADS applies when you buy a dwelling in Scotland for £40,000 or more and, at the end of the day of purchase, you own two or more dwellings anywhere in the world and are not replacing your main residence. It is charged on the whole price, not in bands, which is why it dominates the tax on most investment purchases.
Limited company purchases of residential property normally pay ADS regardless of how many properties the company owns, because the "only dwelling" rules are written for individuals. Factor it into the deposit on every SPV or portfolio purchase; lenders will not fund it. Our limited company and portfolio buy-to-let finance page covers how those purchases are structured. Reliefs exist, including for purchases of six or more dwellings in one transaction (which take non-residential rates) and for replacing a main residence within the time limit, and reclaims are possible where the previous home is sold later. Those edge cases are not modelled here.
Three common errors elsewhere: applying one rate to the whole price instead of marginal bands, using the old 6% Additional Dwelling Supplement (it became 8% on 5 December 2024), or quietly using English SDLT bands. We show the band-by-band breakdown so you can check the method yourself against Revenue Scotland.
Broadly: if you are buying a residential property for £40,000 or more and will own two or more dwellings at the end of the day of purchase (anywhere in the world), ADS is likely to apply at 8% of the full price. Limited company purchases of residential property normally pay ADS too. Replacement-of-main-residence rules and reclaims exist; take advice on edge cases.
Trading hospitality businesses and most mixed-use purchases are treated as non-residential, which usually means dramatically less tax and no ADS. Purchases of six or more dwellings in one transaction also take non-residential rates. Use the commercial option above for these.
Yes, on the net present value of the rent over the lease term, with its own bands, and lease returns must be reviewed every three years. This calculator covers purchases only; ask us about lease LBTT on your deal.
Buying in Scotland? Send the property, price and structure. One working day to an honest funding view, with the tax already in the numbers.