The price is the headline; the cost is the price plus half a dozen other lines, all of which have to exist as cleared money in your solicitor's account before you get keys. Here is every line, with the current rates where the figures are statutory. The good news first: two of the costs English buyers pay do not exist here.
The deposit, and the gap
Your deposit is the slice of the price your mortgage does not cover, from 5% upwards depending on the product. In Scotland it has a companion English buyers never meet: the valuation gap. Lenders lend a percentage of the Home Report valuation, not of your winning bid, so an offer £15,000 over the valuation means finding £15,000 in cash on top of the deposit. Price your ceiling against the valuation before you offer.
LBTT: the tax, band by band
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax replaced stamp duty in Scotland in 2015. It is banded like income tax: each slice of the price is taxed at that slice's rate, so the top rate you touch is never the rate on the whole price. These are the current residential rates:
| Slice of the price | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% |
| Over £750,000 | 12% |
Worked through, a £300,000 purchase carries £4,600 of LBTT, an effective rate of 1.53%, not the 5% of its top band. A first-time buyer pays £4,000: the relief lifts the nil-rate threshold from £145,000 to £175,000, worth up to £600, with no upper price cap in Scotland.
Buying while keeping another dwelling, whether a second home, a buy-to-let, or simply completing before your old home sells, adds the Additional Dwelling Supplement: 8% of the whole price, not a slice. At £250,000 that is £20,000 on top of £2,100 of ordinary LBTT. The £40,000 threshold is a cliff edge rather than an allowance, and replacing your main home lets you reclaim the supplement if the old home sells within 36 months, but you still pay it on the day.
Rates published by Revenue Scotland: residential bands in force since 1 April 2021, the supplement since 5 December 2024, last checked 9 August 2026. Our LBTT calculator does this arithmetic for any price, with the band-by-band working shown.
The professional fees
Your solicitor quotes a fee for the conveyancing plus outlays, the costs they incur for you, itemised separately: searches, the advance notice, and the fee for registering your title, which Registers of Scotland charges on a published sliding scale with the price. Get itemised written quotes from two or three firms before instructing; the fee is theirs to set and the outlays are not. Your lender may add arrangement and valuation fees under its own tariff, and a broker who charges a fee should say so at the first conversation.
What you do not pay in Scotland
- The survey. The seller funds the Home Report, including the valuation your lender will normally use. English buyers pay for this themselves, on every home they bid on.
- The estate agent. The selling agent works for and is paid by the seller. No buyer pays an agency fee for buying.
- An early deposit. There is no England-style exchange deposit weeks before completion: everything moves at settlement, through your solicitor.
Help if it is your first home
Beyond the LBTT relief above: a Lifetime ISA pays a 25% government bonus on up to £4,000 saved a year, usable on a first home up to £450,000 (gov.uk rules, checked August 2026, and a consultation on a successor product is running, with no change expected before 2028). The Scottish Government's Open Market Shared Equity scheme, which funds up to 40% of an eligible first home, was closed to new applications when we checked in August 2026 with reopening for 2026 to 2027 unconfirmed, so check mygov.scot before ruling it in or out.
After you get the keys
Budget for the first year, not just the day: council tax from settlement (the band is in the Home Report's questionnaire), factoring charges and a float on most shared buildings, buildings insurance from the date of entry, because under the Scottish Standard Clauses the property is at your risk from settlement, and your lender will require cover, plus the category 2 repairs from the survey you promised yourself you would deal with.
Frequently asked
- How much is LBTT on a £300,000 home?
- £4,600 for a mover, £4,000 for a first-time buyer, and £28,600 where the Additional Dwelling Supplement applies. Rates published by Revenue Scotland, checked 9 August 2026. The calculator on this site shows the band-by-band working for any price.
- When is LBTT paid?
- At settlement, in practice: your solicitor submits the return to Revenue Scotland and pays the tax from the funds you provided, as part of completing the purchase. It is money you need alongside the deposit, not something added to the mortgage.
- How much are solicitors' fees for buying?
- Firms set their own fees, so the honest answer is a written quote rather than a number from us. Ask two or three firms for an itemised quote separating the fee from the outlays: searches, advance notice and the Registers of Scotland registration fee, which scales with the price.
- What does a second home or buy-to-let add?
- The Additional Dwelling Supplement: 8% of the entire price once it reaches £40,000, on top of ordinary LBTT. If you are replacing your main home and the old one simply has not sold yet, you pay it and can reclaim it if the old home sells within 36 months.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Law and practice change, and individual circumstances vary. Check current guidance at mygov.scot and take professional advice on anything affecting your specific position.
