additional dwelling surcharge

Extra transfer tax charged when the buyer already owns another property, or is buying through a company.

England and Northern Ireland charge it as a Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge; Scotland charges the Additional Dwelling Supplement under LBTT, at a different rate. Wales charges higher residential rates under Land Transaction Tax.

For an investor buying through a company it applies from the first pound, and it is large enough to decide whether a deal works. It is the clearest example of why country-specific rates cannot be assumed to be the same across the United Kingdom.

Where this comes up