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Stamp Duty

From 1st October 2021 property purchased up to £125,000 will be exempt from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) unless it is purchased as a second home, in which case the 3% override will still apply.

Homes sold in excess of £125,000 will pay SDLT on a sliding scale. There are exemptions for first time purchasers.

Please contact your own legal adviser with any queries.

Calculate the duty payable here:
Calculate

What do Rates pay for?

Rates fund public services in Northern Ireland, both regional and local.

Your rate bill is made up of two parts:

  • the regional rate
  • the district rate

Regional rate

The regional rate is set annually by the Northern Ireland Executive and is applied to each district council area in Northern Ireland. This pays for such services as:

  • education
  • housing
  • health
  • roads
  • emergency services
  • water and sewerage

Although a contribution is made by all ratepayers towards public services, there is no specific proportion that can be linked to the availability or usage of any particular public service.

The Executive has agreed that no specific or separate water or sewerage bills will be issued at the present time.

District rate

The district rate is set annually by each of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland, and is used to fund services such as:

  • building control
  • tourism
  • leisure facilities
  • community centres
  • environmental health
  • arts, events and recreation

You can get more information about your district rate and what it pays for in your local area by contacting your council.

How are Rates calculated?

Rateable capital value

This is calculated by taking the capital value of your property (in general, the assessment of your property's value on the open market on 1st January 2005) and applying any reliefs.

There is a maximum capital value of £400,000. For any house valued at more than this the additional value is disregarded when calculating the rates.

Domestic regional rate

This is the number of pence in each pound of the value of your property that you will pay to the NI Executive for regional services.

Domestic district rate

This is the number of pence in each pound of the value of your property that you will pay in rates to your District Council for local services.

Rates payable

This is the amount you have to pay (after exemptions, allowances and reliefs have been applied).

Reliefs and exemptions

There is a range of reliefs and exemptions available for domestic ratepayers. Many of these are included within the Help with paying your rates section of your 'Guide to Rates' booklet or online:

Guide to Rates

Conversion Formulas

  • Square feet to square yards multiply by 0.11111
  • Square yards to square feet multiply by 9.0
  • 1 acre = 43,560 square feet
  • 1 acre = 4,840 square yards

Useful addresses and numbers

  • Law Society of Northern Ireland

    96 Victoria Street, Belfast, BT1 3GN

    T: 028 9023 1614

  • Phoenix Gas

    197 Airport Road, West Belfast, BT3 9ED

    T: 0845 900 5253

  • National Association of Estate Agents

    Arbon House, 6 Tournament Court, Edgehill Drive , Warwick, Warwickshire, CV34 6LG

    T: 0844 387 0555

  • Airtricity

    2nd Floor, 83-85 Great Victoria Street, Belfast, BT2 7AF

    T: 0845 601 9093

  • Power NI

    T: 08457 455 455

  • BskyB

    T: 08442 411 268

  • Virgin Media

    T: 0845 840 7777

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