Second Home Cost Calculator: Stamp Duty & Council Tax Premium by Council (2026/27)
Stamp duty with the surcharge plus council tax with your council's second-homes premium, for the years you hold it — 296 English councils built in.
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A second home now carries two taxes that most buyers only half budget for. Stamp duty comes with the additional-property surcharge on the whole price, and since April 2025 the council can double the council tax bill for a furnished home that is nobody’s main residence. This calculator puts both on one line, using the actual 2026/27 Band D for the council you pick and whether that council charged the premium in its latest return to MHCLG — 211 of 296 English councils did.
What is included
- Stamp duty: the standard residential bands plus the surcharge for an additional property (5% of the whole price above the £40,000 de-minimis), from the same data as our second-home stamp duty calculator. First-time-buyer relief does not apply to a second home; the non-resident surcharge is not added here.
- Council tax: the council’s area Band D for 2026/27 scaled to the band you choose using the statutory England band ratios (Band A is 6/9 of Band D, Band H is double), then the second-homes premium at the rate the council reported for 2025/26.
- Holding period: stamp duty once plus the annual council tax for the years you enter. Mortgage interest, insurance and maintenance are yours to add; the yield calculator covers the letting case.
Ways the council tax line changes
If the property becomes your main residence the premium falls away. If you let it as your tenant’s main home it is their bill at the standard rate. If it stands empty rather than furnished, the empty-home premium schedule applies instead after a year — every council’s schedule is on its page in the premium tracker. gov.uk lists exceptions (an annex, a job-related home, planning restrictions, and up to 12 months after probate or while marketed for sale or to rent).
Stamp duty rates from gov.uk (England); council tax from MHCLG’s Council Tax levels 2026/27 and Council Taxbase 2025 (Open Government Licence v3.0). Premium policy is the council’s 2025/26 return; councils can change it each year. General information, not advice.
Asked constantly
Where the council applies the premium, double the standard bill: a £2,000 Band D home pays £4,000. 211 of 296 English councils reported charging it in 2025/26; the calculator shows your council's position.
Yes — 5% of the whole price on top of the standard bands in England, unless the price is under £40,000. It is refundable within 36 months only if the new home replaces your main residence and the old one is sold.
gov.uk lists exceptions: an annex used with the main home, a home your employer requires you to live in, planning restrictions on permanent occupation, and up to 12 months after probate or while the property is marketed for sale or to rent.
No — Scotland and Wales have their own rules and rates (Wales can go up to 300%). This calculator covers England; the stamp duty calculators for Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT) are separate.
Sources
The primary documents this page is built from. Links checked 5 September 2026.