How much money do you need
to buy a home in London?
The price is not your whole budget: stamp duty (SDLT), legal, registration and any mortgage costs come on top, and the money is not all paid on the same day. The calculator below shows the total cash you need, the date of each payment and the figures in Turkish lira or US dollars.
The price plus tax and costs,
paid in stages.
An example: a buyer paying cash for a £650,000 new-build flat, who spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the previous 12 months and owns a home in Türkiye, pays £68,000 stamp duty. With legal fees, searches, registration, identity checks and an optional snagging survey, roughly £71,000 to £73,000 goes on top of the price.
If someone UK resident with no other home bought the same flat, the stamp duty would be £22,500. Part of the money is paid at reservation, part at exchange and the rest at completion.
Try your own figures in the calculator; this example is what it opens with.
Where the money goes
- Stamp duty at the standard rates (what a UK resident with no other home would pay)£22,500
- Higher rates for an additional home: +5% of the price£32,500
- Non-UK resident surcharge: +2% of the price£13,000
- Legal fees, searches, Land Registry fee, ID checks and an optional snagging survey£3,349 to £4,923
For stamp duty you count as non-UK resident if you spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before buying. The test is specific to stamp duty; nationality or a visa does not decide it.
Count every home worth £40,000 or more, anywhere in the world, owned by you, your spouse or civil partner, or anyone buying with you. Replacing your main home can remove the 5%; this calculator does not apply that exception.
A new-build flat is normally a new lease. A new lease, or a transfer of part of a title, pays the full Land Registry fee; the reduced fee for electronic applications applies only to a transfer of a whole registered title, as in most resales.
Most new leases granted since 30 June 2022 have none. If yours has one, HM Land Registry adds the highest yearly rent in the first five years to the price when it sets the fee.
Your own figures and dates (optional)
Solicitor, searches, survey, ID checks and any lender fees. Stamp duty and the Land Registry fee are worked out for you.
Some off-plan contracts ask for a second deposit before completion. It is part of the price.
Leave a date blank until it is fixed. What you enter stays on this page; it is not saved or sent anywhere.
Typical ranges; your own quotes will differ. Stamp duty and the Land Registry fee follow the official scales and your answers above.
Sources: GOV.UK stamp duty rates and guidance, HM Land Registry registration fees, Bank of England daily spot rates. Last checked on 14 October 2026. www.ogkinvest.co.uk/ogk-purchase-costs.html
Indicative only; not tax, legal or financial advice.
The same budget,
in your own currency.
Filled in with the Bank of England reference rate for 13 October 2026: 1 GBP = 65.4032 TRY. Replace it with the rate your bank or broker quotes.
Leave blank to convert the total cash worked out above.
From your bank’s or broker’s quote: the margin as a percentage and any fixed fee.
The Bank of England publishes these daily rates as a reference and says they are not official rates. The rate and fees your bank or broker quotes decide what you pay.
Three different numbers: price, cost, cash
Three numbers get mixed up in budget conversations:
- The price is what you agree with the developer.
- The total cost is the price plus stamp duty, legal and registration fees and any mortgage costs.
- The cash you need is the part that comes from your own money: all of the total cost in a cash purchase, or the deposit plus costs if you use a mortgage.
The calculator shows the cash you need; choose a mortgage and it takes the loan off.
Which payment is due when?
On a new-build flat, payments are spread across the stages below. Your own agreements set the amounts and dates; the table shows what to look for.
Open “Your own figures and dates” in the calculator and enter your reservation deposit, the fee quotes you have and the payment dates. The “When each payment is due” panel then shows the date of each payment, what is paid and what is left, and the last day for stamp duty based on your completion date. What you enter stays on this page.
If your money is not in sterling, the exchange rate can move between reservation and completion on an off-plan purchase; you can convert each payment separately in the currency section.
Your circumstances decide the stamp duty
Two buyers can pay very different stamp duty on the same flat. Three questions change the figure:
Are you UK resident? For stamp duty, if you were in the UK for fewer than 183 days in the 12 months before the purchase, you are not UK resident and pay a 2% surcharge on a home costing £40,000 or more.
- Nationality, visa and income tax residence do not change this test (see our residency and visa guide).
- If you buy with others and one buyer is not resident, the transaction is non-resident; but for a married couple or civil partners buying together, if one is resident both are treated as resident.
- If after the purchase you spend 183 days in the UK within a continuous 12-month period, you may be able to claim back the 2% under certain conditions.
Will you own another home on completion day? If you or your spouse own another home worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world, Türkiye included, 5 percentage points are added to each band’s rate.
If you are replacing your main home and sell the old one within the allowed time, the higher rates may not apply; the calculator does not work out that exception.
In your own name or through a company? Companies pay the higher rates on any home costing £40,000 or more, and above £500,000 the 17% rate for corporate bodies may apply. The calculator does not work out stamp duty for company purchases; use HMRC’s calculator.
Legal, registration and mortgage costs
Most costs other than stamp duty depend on the quotes you get. The calculator shows a typical range for each from published sources, listed at the end of this page.
- The HM Land Registry fee comes from the official scale: registering a new lease costs £655 where the price is between £500,001 and £1,000,000, with no reduction for applying electronically.
- With a mortgage, arrangement and valuation fees may be added; more in our guide to a UK mortgage on Turkish income.
- Yearly costs after completion, such as the service charge, are not in this calculation; we cover them in our guide to new-build flat running costs.
Short questions,
short answers.
Is the money I need today the same as the total cost?
No. At reservation you pay only the reservation deposit, at exchange the contract deposit; the balance, stamp duty and fees are paid at completion. On an off-plan flat, completion can be months later.
Does my home in Türkiye affect the stamp duty?
Yes. If on completion day you or your spouse own another home worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world, the higher rates apply. The calculator’s “Yes · additional” option is for this.
How much cash do I need with a mortgage?
The deposit plus costs. The contract deposit at exchange comes from your own money before the loan arrives; the loan comes from the lender at completion. You can choose a mortgage and a loan-to-value ratio in the calculator.
Is the reservation deposit an extra cost?
Not if your agreement says it is credited against the price at exchange. A reservation fee that is not credited is an extra cost. Refund terms are in our reservation guide.
Who pays the stamp duty, and when?
The legal deadline to file and pay is 14 days from completion. Your solicitor usually files the return and pays the tax on completion day and adds it to their bill, so it is included in your completion payment.
What the figures
are based on.
Stamp duty and the Land Registry fee come from the official scales; the other lines are typical ranges from the published sources below. This page is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.
Stamp duty rules and the Land Registry fee scale last checked on 14 October 2026: residential rates · non-UK residents · first-time buyer relief · higher rates, £40,000 threshold and companies · 14-day deadline · Land Registry fees, including the ground rent rule for new leases. Exchange rates: Bank of England daily spot rates, data for 13 October 2026. General information, not advice on your own position; ask your solicitor and tax adviser.
Typical ranges last checked on 14 October 2026. Solicitor: MoneyHelper, Connaught Law price list. Searches: HMW Law price list, Saracens Solicitors (1 Oct 2026). Snagging survey: MoneyHelper, HomeOwners Alliance. ID checks: HMW Law, EG Law. Lender fees: Which? (29 May 2026), MoneyHelper. Currency: MoneySavingExpert (4 Aug 2026). Reservation deposit: HomeOwners Alliance (24 Sep 2026), Barratt London, London Square factsheet (Apr 2026).
Reservation and exchange timetable last checked on 14 October 2026: New Homes Quality Code V2, part 2.2 (reservation agreements; homes reserved from 2 March 2026) · GOV.UK, transferring ownership · MoneyHelper, buying timeline.
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