The deposit is the number everyone focuses on, but it is only part of the cash you need to buy your first home. Stamp Duty, legal fees, a survey, a mortgage fee and the move itself all come on top. This guide walks through each cost for 2026/27, with a full worked example, so you can plan for the real total. The figures use the same engines as our first-time buyer calculator and moving house budget calculator.
1. The deposit
Most lenders need at least 5% of the price, but the rate you are offered improves as the deposit grows. The usual steps are 5%, 10%, 15%, 25% and 40%. Moving from a 5% to a 10% deposit often makes a noticeable difference to the rate.
If you are aged 18 to 39, a Lifetime ISA can help: you can save up to £4,000 a year and the government adds 25% (up to £1,000 a year). The home must cost £450,000 or less, and you must have held the account for at least 12 months. Withdraw for any other reason before 60 and you pay a 25% charge, which takes back more than the bonus.
2. Stamp Duty and its equivalents
In England and Northern Ireland, first-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty on the first £300,000 and 5% on the part from £300,001 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief is lost completely and you pay the normal rates on the whole price. Scotland and Wales have their own taxes with different rules:
| Price | England / NI: first-time buyer | England / NI: other buyers | Scotland LBTT: first-time buyer | Wales LTT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £0 | £2,500 | £1,500 | £1,500 |
| £300,000 | £0 | £5,000 | £4,000 | £4,500 |
| £350,000 | £2,500 | £7,500 | £7,750 | £7,500 |
| £450,000 | £7,500 | £12,500 | £17,750 | £14,250 |
| £500,000 | £10,000 | £15,000 | £22,750 | £18,000 |
| £510,000 | £15,500 | £15,500 | £23,750 | £18,750 |
Note the cliff at £500,000: a first-time buyer in England pays £10,000 at £500,000 but £15,500 at £510,000. Wales has no first-time buyer relief, but its tax only starts above £225,000. To qualify in England, every buyer must be a first-time buyer, and the home must be your main residence. Check your figure with the Stamp Duty calculator, the LBTT calculator or the LTT calculator.
3. Legal fees, survey and mortgage fee
- Conveyancing: typically £1,200 to £2,000 including VAT and searches for a straightforward purchase. Leasehold flats cost more, as there is more paperwork.
- Survey:the lender’s valuation is not a survey. A RICS Level 2 (HomeBuyer) report costs around £600; a Level 3 building survey, for older or unusual homes, around £1,000.
- Mortgage arrangement fee: often £999, though fee-free deals exist at a slightly higher rate. You can usually add the fee to the loan, but you then pay interest on it.
- Removals and setting up: from a few hundred pounds for a van to £1,000 or more for a full removal firm, plus anything you need to furnish the place.
A worked example: £350,000 in England
A first-time buyer in England buys a £350,000 home with a 10% deposit of £35,000. They pay £1,500 in legal fees, £600 for a HomeBuyer survey, a £999 mortgage fee and £1,000 for removals, and keep a 10% buffer for surprises:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Deposit (10%) | £35,000 |
| Stamp Duty (first-time buyer relief) | £2,500 |
| Legal fees | £1,500 |
| HomeBuyer survey | £600 |
| Mortgage fee | £999 |
| Removals | £1,000 |
| 10% contingency on the costs | £659.90 |
| Total cash needed | £42,258.90 |
On top of the deposit, the costs come to about £7,259. Without first-time buyer relief, the same purchase would need £47,758.90, because Stamp Duty would be £7,500 instead of £2,500.
4. The monthly payment
The mortgage in our example is £315,000. At an interest rate of 4.5%, the monthly repayment depends heavily on the term:
| Term | Monthly payment | Total paid over the term |
|---|---|---|
| 25 years | £1,750.87 | £525,262 |
| 30 years | £1,596.06 | £574,581 |
| 35 years | £1,490.76 | £626,119 |
Stretching from 25 to 35 years saves about £260 a month but adds about £100,900 of interest if the rate stayed the same throughout. A rate of 5% instead of 4.5% on the 25-year mortgage would push the payment up to £1,841.46. Rates change, so try your own figures in the mortgage repayment calculator, and use the overpayment calculator to see how regular overpayments shorten a long term.
5. How much can you borrow?
Most lenders cap borrowing at about 4 to 4.5 times household income, and some go to 5 or 5.5 times for higher earners or certain professions. They also stress-test whether you could afford the payments if rates rose, and take account of commitments such as car finance, childcare and student loan repayments. The mortgage affordability calculator gives a realistic range.
Other routes to a first home
- Shared ownership: buy a share (often 25% to 75%) and pay rent on the rest. The deposit is smaller, but you pay rent, service charges and a mortgage. The shared ownership calculator adds it all up.
- Buying with someone else: joint incomes raise what you can borrow. For first-time buyer relief in England, every buyer must be a first-time buyer.
- Keep renting for now: buying isn’t always cheaper. The rent vs buy calculator compares the two over time.
Ongoing costs to budget for
Once you own the home, budget for buildings insurance (often required by the lender), council tax, energy and water, maintenance (a common rule of thumb is 1% of the property’s value a year), and, for leasehold flats, ground rent and service charges. The council tax calculator estimates the bill by band, and if you live alone the single person discount takes 25% off it.
The bottom line
For a typical first home, plan for the deposit plus roughly £5,000 to £10,000 of costs, depending on the price and where you buy. First-time buyer relief makes a large difference in England up to £500,000, and the mortgage term changes the monthly payment far more than most people expect. These figures are estimates for 2026/27 and general guidance, not mortgage or financial advice.