stamp duty

A tax you usually pay on the purchase price of your property. If you are a first time buyer and have never owned a property before, there is no stamp duty on properties valued up to £250,000 that complete before 25 March 2012. If you are not a first time buyer and your property costs between £125,001 and £250,000 you pay 1%, if it is £250,001 - £500,000 you pay 3%, if it is £500,001 or more you pay 4%.