Stock Transfer Stamp Duty Calculator

When a UK company’s shares are transferred using a Stock Transfer Form, the buyer may have to pay Stamp Duty. The standard rate is 0.5% of the chargeable consideration, rounded up to the next £5 for each transfer document.

Use the calculator to work out the duty payable, check whether Certificate 1 can be used and find the deadline for paying HMRC.

How is Stamp Duty on a stock transfer calculated?

Stamp Duty is charged at 0.5% of the consideration given for the shares. This may include:

• cash paid to the seller;
• other shares or securities;
• debt taken on or released; or
• another form of chargeable consideration.

HMRC requires the duty to be rounded up to the next multiple of £5 on each document.

For example:

• consideration of £2,000 produces Stamp Duty of £10;
• consideration of £2,001 produces £10.005 of duty, rounded up to £15; and
• consideration of £50,000 produces Stamp Duty of £250.

Run the calculator separately for each Stock Transfer Form where a transaction uses more than one transfer document.

Transfers worth £1,000 or less

Stamp Duty is not normally payable where the consideration shown on the form is £1,000 or less, and the transfer does not form part of a larger transaction or series worth more than £1,000.

In this situation, you should usually complete Certificate 1 on the Stock Transfer Form. You do not normally need to send the form to HMRC for stamping.

The £1,000 test looks beyond the individual form where several transfers form part of the same transaction or series. A £1,000 transfer linked to a larger deal may therefore remain chargeable.

What if no consideration is paid?

A gift of shares may involve no chargeable consideration. Enter £0 in the calculator where nothing is given in return for the shares.

The Stock Transfer Form should show the consideration as Nil. No Stamp Duty is normally payable, and HMRC says that no certificate is needed where no consideration is given.

Other tax consequences may still arise for the person transferring the shares, particularly Capital Gains Tax. See our guide to transferring shares in a limited company for the wider procedure.

When must Stamp Duty be paid?

The buyer must pay the duty and send the Stock Transfer Form to HMRC within 30 days after it is signed and dated.

If day 30 falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the payment must reach HMRC by the end of the previous working day. The calculator adjusts Saturday and Sunday deadlines. Check the date separately if a bank holiday applies.

HMRC says Faster Payments and CHAPS can arrive the same day or the next day. Allow three working days for a Bacs payment to reach HMRC.

The current process is electronic. After making payment, email the signed form and payment details to HMRC. HMRC then issues a confirmation letter stating that the document has been duly stamped.

Send that confirmation, the Stock Transfer Form, and the existing share certificate to the company or its registrar so it can process the change of ownership.

See HMRC’s guidance on completing a Stock Transfer Form and paying Stamp Duty on shares for the official procedure.

What the calculator doesn’t cover

The calculator covers a standard transfer of UK company shares using one Stock Transfer Form. It does not calculate:

• Stamp Duty Reserve Tax on an electronic or paperless share purchase;
• special market-value rules;
• group, reconstruction or acquisition relief;
• Certificate 2 exemptions;
• the special 1.5% charge which can apply to certain transactions; or
• penalties and interest on a late payment.

If the consideration is not paid wholly in cash, or the transfer forms part of a company reorganisation or larger transaction, ask your accountant, solicitor or tax adviser to check the position.

Based on HMRC’s current Stamp Duty rules. Check any unusual or high-value share transfer with your accountant or solicitor.