A company buying its own premises is in a different table from the one every residential calculator uses, and the difference is worth knowing before an offer goes in. Non-residential and mixed use land has its own bands in the Finance Act, a higher starting threshold, and a top rate well below the residential one. The complications are not in the arithmetic. They are in deciding which table the transaction belongs to.
The non-residential table, from the legislation
Finance Act 2003 section 55 sets out Table B for consideration on land that is not residential property: 0% on so much as does not exceed £150,000, 2% on so much as exceeds £150,000 but does not exceed £250,000, and 5% on the remainder. There is no further band above that, so the effective rate on a large commercial purchase tends towards 5% rather than climbing to the residential top rate.
Mixed use is the decision that moves the bill
A transaction that includes any land that is not residential property is charged under the non-residential table on the whole consideration. A flat over a shop, a farmhouse with commercial land, or a residential block with a retail unit can therefore fall outside the residential rates entirely. HMRC scrutinises this, and a claim that a purchase is mixed use is a matter of fact about the land rather than a labelling choice.
What a commercial calculator leaves out
The published table is the easy half. A lease premium and the rent are charged separately, with the net present value of the rent bringing its own charge once it passes the threshold. Linked transactions are added together before the bands are applied. Group relief, charity relief and multiple dwellings treatment each change the answer, and none of them appears in a rate table.
Scotland and Wales have their own commercial tables
A commercial purchase in Scotland is charged to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, where Revenue Scotland charges nothing to £150,000, 1% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above that. Wales charges Land Transaction Tax on its own non-residential bands. The starting threshold happens to match in Scotland and the middle band does not, so a UK-wide calculator has to ask where the building is before it can answer.
Questions people ask about commercial property stamp duty calculator
Is commercial stamp duty cheaper than residential?
On the main tables it usually is, because the non-residential table starts at £150,000 and tops out at 5% while the residential table climbs to 12%. On a small purchase the residential table can be cheaper, and the additional dwelling and non-resident surcharges only exist on the residential side, so the comparison depends on the price.
Does buying through a company change the table?
For non-residential land, no. The table follows the land rather than the buyer. For residential property a corporate buyer is generally within the higher rates from the first purchase, and a separate flat charge can apply to high value residential purchases by companies, which is the point at which advice is worth paying for.
How is the rent on a new lease taxed?
Separately from any premium. SDLT is charged on the net present value of the rent over the life of the lease and applies once that value passes the threshold, so a lease with no premium at all can still produce a return and a payment. It is the part of a commercial deal most often missed.
Can this page tell me what my purchase will cost?
It can tell you what the published bands are and where the decisions sit. It cannot tell you whether your transaction is mixed use, whether a relief applies or how linked transactions are treated on your facts, and it does not try to. That reading is what the adviser or conveyancer is paid for.