Deposit, the purchase tax where the home is and typical fees for a new home, less the cash offers the builder states, so you know the figure before you reserve.
Each price has its own guide: the deposit table, the cash with each nation’s tax, and the new homes for sale at it.
The price on the plot is only part of the cash you need. The calculator adds each cost a buyer pays from their own money, takes off the cash offers the builder states, and gives the one figure to have ready by completion.
The fees are allowances from MoneyHelper’s usual costs, most of them the top of each range, so the figure is one you can plan around: your own quotes may be lower.
The legal fee allowance is the same conveyancing, searches and transfer at every price, plus HM Land Registry’s fee for registering the home, which steps up with the price.
| Price | Legal fee allowance |
|---|---|
| £0 to £80,000 | £2,395 |
| £80,001 to £100,000 | £2,445 |
| £100,001 to £200,000 | £2,580 |
| £200,001 to £500,000 | £2,680 |
| £500,001 to £1,000,000 | £3,005 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £3,455 |
A 10% deposit, stamp duty at England’s rates today, legal fees, a survey and mortgage fees, before any builder offer. A first-time buyer and someone moving home differ only in the stamp duty.
| Price | Deposit | Fees | Stamp duty, first-time buyer | Cash, first-time buyer | Stamp duty, moving home | Cash, moving home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £20,000 | £6,580 | £0 | £26,580 | £1,500 | £28,080 |
| £250,000 | £25,000 | £6,680 | £0 | £31,680 | £2,500 | £34,180 |
| £300,000 | £30,000 | £6,680 | £0 | £36,680 | £5,000 | £41,680 |
| £350,000 | £35,000 | £6,680 | £2,500 | £44,180 | £7,500 | £49,180 |
| £400,000 | £40,000 | £6,680 | £5,000 | £51,680 | £10,000 | £56,680 |
| £500,000 | £50,000 | £6,680 | £10,000 | £66,680 | £15,000 | £71,680 |
£399,995 is the middle asking price of the 19,085 new homes for sale in England on NewHomeSearch today. For a first-time buyer putting down 10%, the cash on the day comes to £51,679:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Deposit (10%) | £40,000 |
| Stamp duty, first-time buyer | £4,999 |
| Legal fees | £2,680 |
| Survey or inspection | £1,500 |
| Mortgage fees | £2,500 |
| Cash you need | £51,679 |
With a 5% deposit instead, it is £31,679: £20,000 less now, and a bigger mortgage to repay. Someone moving home, with 10% down, needs £56,679, the difference being stamp duty.
Each nation has its own purchase tax, and the cash you need moves with it. The £399,995 home with a 10% deposit, at each nation’s rates today:
| Nation | Tax | First-time buyer | Moving home |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Northern Ireland | Stamp duty | £51,679 | £56,679 |
| Scotland | Land and Buildings Transaction Tax | £59,429 | £60,029 |
| Wales | Land Transaction Tax | £57,179 | £57,179 |
Wales has no first-time buyer relief, so a first-time buyer pays the same Land Transaction Tax as anyone moving home.
The cash does not all go on one day. On a new build it comes in stages, and on a home still being built the stages can be months apart.
Of the 22,329 new homes for sale on NewHomeSearch today, these carry a cash offer the calculator can count, as their builders state them:
| Offer | Homes | Share of homes for sale | Middle stated value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit contribution | 5,652 | 25% | £12,000 |
| Stamp duty paid | 1,250 | 6% | £14,999 |
| Legal fees paid | 166 | 1% | £500 |
| Cashback | 32 | 0% | £17,375 |
| Moving costs paid | 152 | 1% | £5,000 |
An offer worth “up to” an amount is a ceiling, not a promise, so the calculator names it and never counts it. Open the calculator from a home’s page and it starts with that home’s own offers.
On the middle new home for sale in England, £399,995, a first-time buyer with a 10% deposit needs £51,679 in cash: the deposit, stamp duty, legal fees, a survey and mortgage fees. Someone moving home needs £56,679.
Your deposit and the costs on top of the price: purchase tax, legal fees, a survey or snagging inspection and mortgage fees, less any cash offer the builder states. Open the calculator from a home’s page to start from that home’s price and offers.
The calculator allows £2,395 to £3,455, rising with the price: MoneyHelper’s figures for conveyancing with VAT, searches and a transfer fee, plus HM Land Registry’s registration fee. Ask two or three conveyancers for a quote.
In England and Northern Ireland they pay none on the first £300,000 of a home costing up to £500,000: on £399,995 a first-time buyer pays £4,999 and someone moving home £9,999. Wales has no first-time buyer relief; Scotland has its own.
Usually not: most builders take it off the price at completion. If yours does not, it is an extra cost, and the calculator counts it as one. You get it back in full if you cancel within the cooling-off period of at least 14 days.
Many builders offer a deposit contribution or stamp duty paid, and the calculator counts each against the cost it pays for. Declare any offer to your lender: some take a cash incentive off the price when they work out the loan to value, and on some homes, particularly flats, a lender may decline a deposit contribution or limit it.
A reservation fee the builder does not credit, a snagging inspection, removals, estate or service charges, buildings insurance and council tax from completion, and anything the builder does not include, such as flooring.
Sources: MoneyHelper’s costs of buying a home (legal, survey and mortgage fee allowances) and HM Land Registry’s registration fees, both Open Government Licence; stamp duty at GOV.UK’s rates, LBTT at Revenue Scotland’s and LTT at the Welsh Revenue Authority’s; offers counted from the new homes for sale on NewHomeSearch today, as their builders state them; the reservation and exchange terms are the New Homes Quality Code’s.