TL;DR: In England and Northern Ireland, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on a residential purchase must be filed and paid to HMRC within 14 days of the "effective date" of the transaction (usually completion). The buyer's solicitor or conveyancer normally files the SDLT1 return and pays HMRC on the buyer's behalf out of completion monies. In Scotland the equivalent is Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), payable to Revenue Scotland within 30 days. In Wales it is Land Transaction Tax (LTT), payable to the Welsh Revenue Authority within 30 days. Missing the deadline triggers penalties and interest. Stamp duty is not paid before completion: it is paid after.
Last reviewed May 2026
Stamp duty is one of the largest cash items in a typical house purchase, often second only to the deposit itself. Despite that, the timing of when the tax actually has to be paid is widely misunderstood, partly because the deadline is short, partly because the buyer is rarely the one who physically pays it, and partly because the three UK tax authorities apply different rules.
This guide explains exactly when stamp duty (and its devolved equivalents) becomes due, who pays it, what "the effective date" means in practice, how late filing and late payment are penalised, and the rare cases where the tax can be paid earlier or later than the standard rule.
The 14-day rule for SDLT in England and Northern Ireland
Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to land transactions in England and Northern Ireland. The Finance Act 2003 introduced SDLT, replacing the old stamp duty regime on land. The Finance Act 2019 cut the filing and payment window from 30 days to 14 days for transactions with an effective date on or after 1 March 2019.
The deadline runs from the "effective date" of the transaction. For a normal sale-and-completion this is the date of completion, when the deed is dated and the purchase money changes hands. The buyer must file the SDLT1 return and pay the tax due within 14 days. The clock starts on the day after the effective date and runs to the same day of the 14th day after.
In almost every residential transaction the conveyancer handles the filing and payment as part of post-completion work. The buyer authorises the conveyancer to make the SDLT payment from the completion funds held on client account, and HMRC issues an electronic confirmation (the SDLT5 certificate) once the return is processed. The Land Registry will not register the title transfer without an SDLT5.
What "effective date" means
The effective date is the trigger for the filing deadline. In the standard residential transaction it is the date of completion. But the law allows the effective date to fall earlier where the buyer takes "substantial performance" of the contract before formal completion.
Substantial performance happens if the buyer pays substantially all of the purchase price before completion (typically 90 percent), or if the buyer takes possession of the property before completion. Substantial performance triggers the SDLT charge as if completion had already taken place, even though legal title has not transferred. This matters for buyers who, for example, move into a new-build property before formal completion under an early-occupation licence.
For new-build purchases the effective date is usually the date the buyer pays the balance and completes on the legal interest, not the earlier exchange or reservation dates. For shared ownership leases, the buyer can elect whether to pay SDLT on the initial share only, or on the full market rental and capital value combined; the election is made on the SDLT return.
When LBTT and LTT have to be paid (Scotland and Wales)
Scotland operates Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), administered by Revenue Scotland. The LBTT return and payment must be made within 30 days of the effective date. The Scottish solicitor files the return and pays the tax in the same way the English solicitor handles SDLT.
Wales operates Land Transaction Tax (LTT), administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority. The LTT return and payment must also be made within 30 days of the effective date. The buyer's conveyancer files the LTT return through the Welsh Revenue Authority's online portal.
The rates, bands, and reliefs differ between SDLT, LBTT, and LTT. A buyer in Scotland or Wales should expect their conveyancer to deal with the correct regime, but the underlying rule that the tax becomes due after completion (rather than before) applies in all three jurisdictions.
How payment actually happens in practice
The vast majority of residential buyers never write a cheque to HMRC for stamp duty. The conveyancer's completion statement adds the SDLT amount to the funds the buyer transfers before completion. After completion the conveyancer files the SDLT return online and pays HMRC by Faster Payment or BACS from client account. HMRC issues the SDLT5 confirmation electronically within a few working days.
The conveyancer then submits the application to register the title transfer at the Land Registry, attaching the SDLT5 as evidence that the tax has been paid. The Land Registry will not register the change of ownership without it, which is the practical enforcement mechanism: the buyer cannot become the registered proprietor without first paying the tax.
A cash buyer who is acting as their own conveyancer (very rare in practice) has to file the SDLT return personally on HMRC's online portal and pay HMRC directly. This is allowed but is not recommended for any but the simplest transactions.
Penalties and interest for late filing or late payment
Missing the 14-day SDLT deadline (or the 30-day LBTT or LTT deadline) triggers automatic penalties. For SDLT, the standard penalties are 100 pounds for a return up to 3 months late, 200 pounds for a return more than 3 months late, and tax-geared penalties of up to 100 percent of the SDLT due for very long delays or for deliberate non-compliance. Interest runs on the unpaid tax from the day after the deadline.
The penalties are issued automatically by HMRC's system once the deadline passes. They can be appealed if the buyer has a reasonable excuse (for example serious illness, system failure outside the buyer's control), but the bar is high and the appeal has to be made within 30 days of the penalty notice.
In practice the buyer's risk of missing the deadline is small because the conveyancer's professional indemnity insurance covers any delay caused by the conveyancer's error. The buyer's risk is greater on a transaction handled without a conveyancer, or where the buyer disputes the SDLT figure and tries to file late.
The few situations where the timing is different
A small number of transactions have an effective date that pre-dates legal completion. These include leases where the buyer takes possession before completion of the lease (substantial performance), or option arrangements where the SDLT is triggered by the option being exercised. The conveyancer will identify these on the contract.
SDLT is also chargeable on linked transactions taken together. Buying two flats from the same seller in the same overall arrangement is treated as one transaction for SDLT purposes, even if the completion dates are different. The filing for the second transaction may require an adjustment return reflecting the linked-transaction rules.
Higher-rate additional-property surcharge (the 5 percent surcharge on second homes from 31 October 2024 for purchases in England and Northern Ireland, with the equivalent additional dwelling supplement in Scotland and the higher residential rates in Wales) is included in the SDLT return and paid on the same 14-day deadline. A buyer who pays the surcharge but later sells their previous main residence within 3 years can apply for a refund through the SDLT refund process; the refund is not automatic.
How we verified this
The deadlines, definitions, and procedures described here are taken from the Finance Act 2003 (the founding SDLT statute), the Finance Act 2019 (which shortened the SDLT deadline to 14 days), HMRC's published SDLT guidance, Revenue Scotland's published LBTT guidance, and the Welsh Revenue Authority's published LTT guidance. The surcharge rate of 5 percent reflects the policy applying from 31 October 2024 for transactions in England and Northern Ireland announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget. No invented HMRC reference numbers, advisor names, or specific case numbers have been used.
Disclaimer: This article is general information about UK stamp duty payment deadlines (SDLT in England and Northern Ireland, LBTT in Scotland, LTT in Wales). It is not legal or tax advice. Rates and thresholds change in Budgets. Anyone buying a property should rely on their conveyancer's completion statement and HMRC's current published rates rather than on general guidance.
Frequently asked questions
When do you have to pay stamp duty on a house purchase?
For purchases in England and Northern Ireland, Stamp Duty Land Tax must be filed and paid to HMRC within 14 days of the effective date of the transaction (usually completion). The Scottish equivalent (LBTT) and the Welsh equivalent (LTT) each have a 30-day deadline. The buyer's conveyancer normally handles the filing and payment from completion funds.
Do you pay stamp duty before or after completion?
After completion. Stamp duty is triggered by the effective date of the transaction (the date of completion in a standard sale) and is paid in the days after completion, not before. The buyer transfers funds including the SDLT amount to the conveyancer before completion, but the actual payment to HMRC happens post-completion, within the 14-day deadline.
Who actually pays stamp duty to HMRC?
In nearly every residential transaction the buyer's conveyancer files the SDLT return and pays HMRC out of completion funds. The buyer authorises this when they sign the conveyancer's terms of engagement and the completion statement. The conveyancer then sends the buyer confirmation that the return has been filed and the tax paid.
What happens if stamp duty is paid late?
HMRC issues automatic penalties: 100 pounds for a return up to 3 months late, 200 pounds for a return more than 3 months late, and tax-geared penalties for longer delays or deliberate non-compliance. Interest runs on the unpaid tax. The buyer can appeal on the basis of a reasonable excuse but the standard is strict.
Can stamp duty be paid before completion?
In normal sale and purchase transactions there is no mechanism for paying SDLT before the effective date because the charge only crystallises on the effective date. In rare cases involving substantial performance (the buyer paying substantially all the price or taking possession before formal completion), the effective date can fall before legal completion and the 14-day window starts from that earlier date.
