Stamp Duty & Solicitors Fees Calculator 2026
Work out your stamp duty plus solicitor and conveyancing fees in one place. The calculator estimates legal fees by property price and adds the official Land Registry fee automatically.
Quick answer: on a £350,000 home in England, a standard buyer pays £7,500 stamp duty and, on our estimate, £1,260 in solicitor fees including VAT: £8,760 together. Add the £150 Land Registry fee and around £300 for searches and the total is £9,210. A first-time buyer pays £2,500 stamp duty at the same price.
Purchase Details
Solicitor & Legal Fees
Auto-estimated by price & tenure
Local authority, water & environmental
HM Land Registry fee (England and Wales) is added automatically using the official Scale 1 portal fees. Northern Ireland registration fees differ.
Cost Breakdown
Enter a Property Price
See stamp duty plus solicitor and legal fees
What This Calculator Includes
This tool focuses on the tax and legal costs of buying a property. If you want a full budget that also covers your deposit, mortgage, survey and moving costs, use the cost of buying a house calculator instead.
Stamp Duty
Calculated automatically for England and Northern Ireland (SDLT), Scotland (LBTT) and Wales (LTT), with first-time buyer relief and the additional property surcharge applied based on your buyer type. Learn how stamp duty is calculated.
Solicitor Fee
The conveyancing legal fee, estimated by property price and shown inclusive of VAT. Our estimate runs from £960 to £2,280 including VAT, with leasehold adding a separate supplement. You can edit the figure if you already have a quote.
Disbursements
HM Land Registry fee on the official Scale 1 portal fees (England and Wales), plus local authority, water and environmental searches. These are third-party costs your solicitor pays on your behalf. The Registers of Scotland fee is not included.
Worked Examples
| Purchase | Stamp Duty | Solicitor Fee | Registration | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
£200,000, England Standard buyer | £1,500 | £1,020 | £100 | £2,920 |
£350,000, England Standard buyer | £7,500 | £1,260 | £150 | £9,210 |
£350,000, England First-time buyer | £2,500 | £1,260 | £150 | £4,210 |
£350,000, England Additional property (+5%) | £25,000 | £1,260 | £150 | £26,710 |
£500,000, England Standard buyer | £15,000 | £1,260 | £150 | £16,710 |
£750,000, England Standard buyer | £27,500 | £1,500 | £295 | £29,595 |
£250,000, Scotland (LBTT) Standard buyer | £2,100 | £1,140 | Not included | £3,540 |
£300,000, Wales (LTT) Standard buyer | £4,500 | £1,140 | £150 | £6,090 |
Freehold, including £300 of searches. Solicitor fees are our estimate including VAT and vary by firm. Stamp duty uses the rates in force from 1 April 2025 (SDLT), with current LBTT and LTT rates for Scotland and Wales. The Registers of Scotland fee is not included in the Scotland total.
HM Land Registry Fees (Scale 1)
When you buy a registered property in England or Wales, your conveyancer pays HM Land Registry to register you as the owner. The fee depends on the price and on whether the application is made through the portal or by post. There is no VAT on it.
| Price | Portal (transfer of whole) | By post |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £80,000 | £20 | £45 |
| £80,001 to £100,000 | £40 | £95 |
| £100,001 to £200,000 | £100 | £230 |
| £200,001 to £500,000 | £150 | £330 |
| £500,001 to £1,000,000 | £295 | £655 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £500 | £1,105 |
Source: HM Land Registry, Registration Services fees, Scale 1 (GOV.UK, last updated 28 April 2025). This calculator uses the portal column. Scotland (Registers of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (Land & Property Services) charge their own registration fees.
Solicitor & Legal Fees Explained
Legal Fee vs Disbursements
The legal fee is the solicitor's charge for handling contracts, enquiries and completion. Our estimate is £960 to £2,280 including VAT, depending on price. Disbursements are separate third-party costs such as searches, the Land Registry fee and bank transfer charges that pass straight through to you.
Searches
A standard search pack covering local authority, water and drainage, and environmental searches typically costs £250 to £400. Lenders require these before releasing funds, so they apply to almost every mortgaged purchase.
Land Registry Fee
In England and Wales, HM Land Registry charges a statutory fee to register you as the new owner, set on a price band from £20 to £500 for a portal application (see the Scale 1 table above). There is no VAT on this fee.
Leasehold Adds Cost
Buying a leasehold flat means reviewing the lease and management pack and serving notices on the freeholder. Expect around £200 to £350 of extra legal work, which this calculator adds when you select leasehold.
Always Get an Itemised Quote
A low headline conveyancing quote can hide disbursements or leasehold charges that appear later. Ask each firm to separate the legal fee from disbursements, confirm whether VAT is included, and check what you pay if the purchase falls through.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are stamp duty and solicitors fees combined?
Stamp duty depends on the price, region and buyer type. Our estimate of the solicitor (conveyancing) legal fee runs from £960 to £2,280 including VAT, depending on price. On a £350,000 freehold home in England a standard buyer pays £7,500 stamp duty plus about £1,260 in solicitor fees, £8,760 together. The £150 Land Registry fee and around £300 of searches take the total to £9,210. Enter your price above for an exact figure.
What is included in solicitor or conveyancing fees?
Conveyancing fees split into two parts. The legal fee is what the solicitor or licensed conveyancer charges for the work: our estimate is £960 to £2,280 including VAT, depending on price. Disbursements are third-party costs paid on your behalf, including local authority searches (£250 to £400), the HM Land Registry fee (£20 to £500 on the portal scale in England and Wales), bankruptcy and priority searches, and bank transfer fees.
How is the Land Registry fee calculated?
In England and Wales, HM Land Registry charges a price-banded registration fee. For a transfer of a whole registered title applied for through the portal, the Scale 1 fee is £20 up to £80,000, £40 up to £100,000, £100 up to £200,000, £150 up to £500,000, £295 up to £1 million, and £500 above £1 million. Postal applications cost more. Scotland (Registers of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (Land & Property Services) set their own fees. This calculator applies the correct HM Land Registry band automatically.
Are solicitor fees higher for leasehold property?
Yes. Leasehold purchases involve extra legal work such as reviewing the lease, the management pack and freeholder notices, so conveyancers usually charge around £200 to £350 more than for an equivalent freehold. This calculator adds a leasehold supplement when you select leasehold tenure.
Do I pay VAT on stamp duty or solicitor fees?
There is no VAT on stamp duty (SDLT, LBTT or LTT) or on the Land Registry fee, as these are statutory charges. VAT at 20% does apply to the solicitor legal fee and to some disbursements. The solicitor fee shown by this calculator is VAT inclusive.
Reviewed by
Julie White
ACAStamp duty specialist since 1999Stamp Duty Land Tax Specialist
ACA and Tax Adviser with a career spanning nearly four decades, specialising in stamp duty planning and advisory work since 1999.