When you buy a second home or a buy-to-let, England's extra 5% stamp duty surcharge doesn't cost everyone the same multiple of their standard bill. A national ranking of 295 English local authorities' 2025 median house prices shows the surcharge multiplies the tax due by under 2 times in Kensington and Chelsea — and by more than 30 times in Burnley and Blackpool.
That's not a quirk of any one area. It's what happens when a flat-rate surcharge is layered on top of a tax that starts at 0% and only ramps up gradually. The cheaper the area, the smaller the "standard" bill a surcharge has to multiply — so the same 5 percentage points does dramatically more relative work.
How the multiple is built
England's Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for a home mover charges 0% up to £125,000, then 2% up to £250,000, 5% up to £925,000, and higher rates above that (HMRC, 2026). The additional-property surcharge adds a flat 5 percentage points on top of those same slabs — starting from the very first pound, with no nil-rate band of its own.
At a typical Burnley price of £135,000, a home mover pays just £200 in SDLT — only £10,000 of the price falls into the 2% band above the £125,000 threshold. A buyer purchasing the same property as an additional property pays £6,950: the standard £200 plus 5% of the full £135,000. That's a 34.75× multiple.
At Kensington and Chelsea's £1,180,000 median, the mechanics work very differently. A mover already pays £61,750 through the higher slabs before any surcharge applies. Adding the flat 5% surcharge (£59,000) takes the bill to £120,750 — a 1.96× multiple, because the "standard" starting point was already large.
Where the multiple runs highest
These are the 15 English local authorities where 2025's median house price produces the largest additional-property multiple — all outside the South East, and all built on median prices under £175,000.
| Area | 2025 median price | Mover SDLT | Additional-property SDLT | Multiple | 2025 sales (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnley | £135,000 | £200 | £6,950 | 34.75× | 1,366 |
| Blackpool | £137,000 | £240 | £7,090 | 29.54× | 2,074 |
| Hyndburn | £140,000 | £300 | £7,300 | 24.33× | 1,160 |
| Kingston upon Hull | £142,725 | £354 | £7,491 | 21.13× | 2,948 |
| County Durham | £145,000 | £400 | £7,650 | 19.12× | 7,861 |
| Pendle | £148,000 | £460 | £7,860 | 17.09× | 1,453 |
| Middlesbrough | £158,000 | £660 | £8,560 | 12.97× | 1,750 |
| Hartlepool | £159,400 | £688 | £8,658 | 12.58× | 1,405 |
| Sunderland | £159,950 | £699 | £8,696 | 12.44× | 3,340 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £160,000 | £700 | £8,700 | 12.43× | 2,961 |
| Gateshead | £165,000 | £800 | £9,050 | 11.31× | 2,590 |
| North East Lincolnshire | £165,000 | £800 | £9,050 | 11.31× | 2,338 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £165,000 | £800 | £9,050 | 11.31× | 1,919 |
| South Tyneside | £169,950 | £899 | £9,396 | 10.45× | 1,716 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £171,000 | £920 | £9,470 | 10.29× | 1,981 |
Where the multiple runs lowest
At the other end, London and the Home Counties post the smallest multiples — because their median prices already sit deep in the higher standard-rate slabs before any surcharge is applied.
| Area | 2025 median price | Mover SDLT | Additional-property SDLT | Multiple | 2025 sales (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington and Chelsea | £1,180,000 | £61,750 | £120,750 | 1.96× | 1,696 |
| Westminster | £880,000 | £34,000 | £78,000 | 2.29× | 2,107 |
| City of London | £820,000 | £31,000 | £72,000 | 2.32× | 158 |
| Camden | £780,000 | £29,000 | £68,000 | 2.34× | 1,940 |
| Richmond upon Thames | £720,500 | £26,025 | £62,050 | 2.38× | 2,710 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £706,000 | £25,300 | £60,600 | 2.40× | 2,271 |
| Elmbridge | £659,500 | £22,975 | £55,950 | 2.44× | 2,186 |
| Islington | £650,000 | £22,500 | £55,000 | 2.44× | 1,985 |
| Wandsworth | £650,000 | £22,500 | £55,000 | 2.44× | 5,000 |
| St Albans | £620,000 | £21,000 | £52,000 | 2.48× | 2,172 |
| Hackney | £590,000 | £19,500 | £49,000 | 2.51× | 2,232 |
| Mole Valley | £580,000 | £19,000 | £48,000 | 2.53× | 1,176 |
| Barnet | £580,000 | £19,000 | £48,000 | 2.53× | 3,582 |
| Haringey | £575,000 | £18,750 | £47,500 | 2.53× | 2,397 |
| Hertsmere | £561,500 | £18,075 | £46,150 | 2.55× | 1,224 |
The pattern holds across the whole price ladder
Splitting all 295 authorities into four equal groups by median price shows the multiple falling steadily as price rises — it isn't just a story about the extremes.
| Price quartile (2025 median) | Local authorities | Average multiple |
|---|---|---|
| £135,000 – £235,000 (cheapest) | 73 | 9.35× |
| £235,000 – £305,000 | 73 | 5.09× |
| £305,000 – £400,500 | 73 | 3.39× |
| £408,000 – £1,180,000 (priciest) | 76 | 2.68× |
Across all 295 areas, the average multiple is 5.10× and the midpoint (median) is 3.86×.
Why this isn't really about the area — it's about the price
The honest reading of this data is that the multiple is driven almost entirely by where an area's median price sits on the national SDLT schedule, not by anything specific to that local authority. Two areas with the same median price produce the same multiple, regardless of region. We've set out the mechanics behind that curve in more detail in our effective-rate comparison of first-time buyer, mover and additional-property stamp duty.
It's also worth being precise about who this affects. "Additional property" isn't only landlords — it covers second homes, holiday homes and any purchase where the buyer will own more than one residential property at completion, subject to some exceptions (HMRC, 2026). We've previously converted these same surcharge amounts into years of council tax for a smaller sample of areas in how many years of council tax the additional-property surcharge equals, which this national ranking extends to the full set of 295 English authorities.
Try it on your own numbers
The exact figures above use each area's 2025 median price — your own purchase price will produce a different multiple. Homecost's stamp duty calculator lets you enter any price and compare the standard and additional-property figures directly, and our Blackpool property search shows current listings and past sale prices in one of the highest-multiple areas in this ranking.
This is general information about how the stamp duty surcharge is calculated, not advice on whether a purchase counts as an additional property or what you'll owe. Speak to a conveyancer or qualified tax adviser to confirm your own liability before completing.
Based on 754,631 Land Registry residential sales across 295 English local authorities in 2025 and HMRC's current SDLT schedule, browse more cost intelligence guides on Homecost.