Rates & sources
SDLT/LTT/LBTT bands vary between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Use the appropriate calculator.
Source: HMRC / Welsh Revenue / Revenue Scotland — figures refreshed at the start of each tax year.
Upgrade · £9.99
Full 2025/26 tax summary as a PDF
A personalised 4-page report with your band breakdown, NI, pension relief and sources — delivered to your inbox. No subscription.
When to use this calculator
- Before buying, renting, refinancing, or reviewing a property investment.
- When you want to compare cash flow, yield, growth, and ownership costs side by side.
- When you need a fast estimate before speaking to an agent, lender, or adviser.
- When you are assessing whether a rental property still makes financial sense after a mortgage rate change.
- When you want to compare the total cost of renting against owning over a five- or ten-year horizon.
A realistic UK planning example
Use these sample inputs as a quick scenario test, then change one variable at a time to compare outcomes.
Property Market Value (£)
£250,000
Years as Public Sector Tenant
25 years
Property Type
House
After entering these figures, review purchase price, discount amount and discount rate together rather than in isolation — each metric tells a different part of the story. Then rerun the tool with one input adjusted to see which variable has the biggest effect on all three outputs before you settle on a plan.
How to read your results
Purchase Price
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Discount Amount
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Discount Rate
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Discount % of Value
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Method & assumptionsAuthoritative sources
This calculator applies the Right to Buy discount rules for England as updated for 2024/25. For houses, the minimum qualifying tenancy is three years, with a starting discount of 35% rising by 1 percentage point for each complete year beyond three, subject to a maximum discount rate of 70% and a cash cap of £102,400. For flats and maisonettes, the discount begins at 50% after five qualifying years and climbs by 2 percentage points per additional year, subject to the same 70% rate ceiling and £102,400 cash cap. The calculator applies whichever limit — the percentage or the cash cap — produces the smaller discount, in line with government rules.
The resulting purchase price is the open market value minus the capped discount. This is the figure your mortgage lender will use as the agreed purchase price. Note that the cash cap is reviewed periodically and regional variations exist in London, where a higher cap of £136,400 applied in recent years; always confirm the current cap with your landlord or on GOV.UK before relying on these figures for a formal offer.
Common mistakes
- !Comparing rent and ownership costs without including taxes, fees, and maintenance.
- !Using purchase price alone without testing the impact of financing or vacancy assumptions.
- !Relying on yield or growth in isolation instead of reviewing the full property case.
- !Forgetting Stamp Duty Land Tax (or its Scottish and Welsh equivalents), which can add thousands to the true cost of purchase.
- !Using optimistic rental growth figures without also testing a flat or declining rent scenario to check downside resilience.
What to do next
- Run a second scenario with a higher rate or lower rental yield to check downside resilience.
- Compare the result with a buy-versus-rent or stamp duty calculator before making an offer.
- Use the related guides below to understand agent fees, legal costs, and ongoing maintenance budgets.
- If you are assessing a buy-to-let, check the gross yield against the net yield after mortgage interest, voids, and management fees.
- Note down the key figures from this scenario to share with your solicitor or mortgage broker so they are working from the same assumptions.
Frequently asked
Use arrow keys to navigate items, Enter or Space to expand/collapse.
End-of-article next steps
Where to go after this calculator
Move to a focused hub instead of restarting your research from scratch.
Best Tools for Small Business
Pick software, validate unit economics, and execute workflows with one connected path.
Open hub →
Startup Resource Center
A startup stack for software decisions, runway math, and practical launch workflows.
Open hub →
Creator Toolkit
Choose creator platforms, calculate revenue targets, and ship assets faster.
Open hub →
Money Management Tools
A practical path for financial product choices, scenario math, and planning utilities.
Open hub →