Quick answer
Our legal fee for buying a freehold home under £2m with one mortgage is £1,010 to £1,910 + VAT, depending on the price. Searches and other third-party costs are typically £319 to £341. Stamp Duty and the Land Registry fee are paid separately. The calculator below shows our fees and disbursements for your price, with Stamp Duty and the Land Registry fee shown separately.
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An estimate for a standard transaction. Your written quote confirms the exact figure.
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What the costs are
Buying or selling a home has up to five kinds of cost. Our published ranges are below; the calculator gives the figures for your price.
| Our legal fee: buying | £1,010 – £1,910 + VAT (£1,212 – £2,292 including VAT). Standard purchase of a freehold home under £2m, with one mortgage. |
|---|---|
| Our legal fee: selling | £660 – £1,060 + VAT (£792 – £1,272 including VAT). Standard sale of a freehold home under £2m, with one registered mortgage to redeem. |
| VAT | 20% on our fee and on some third-party costs, shown line by line in your quote. |
| Disbursements (third-party costs) | Typically £319 – £341 on a purchase and £46 – £78 on a sale, for one or two people, including VAT where it applies. On a purchase this covers the searches, identity and bankruptcy checks and portal fees. |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax, or Land Transaction Tax in Wales | Paid by the buyer, to HMRC in England or the Welsh Revenue Authority in Wales. It depends on the price and your circumstances. We work it out and submit the return for you. |
| HM Land Registry fee | Paid on a purchase to register you as the owner. It depends on the price: from £20 to £500 for an existing home applied for online. New builds pay more. |
Where a matter needs extra work — leasehold, shared ownership, new build, defective title, or bridging, buy-to-let or Sharia-compliant finance — that work is charged as an additional fixed fee, typically £50 – £750 + VAT per item. It is added to the transaction fee above, never charged instead of it, and is agreed in writing before the work is carried out.
Not included: a survey, indemnity premiums, freeholder or managing-agent charges, or lender charges. Every published range, and what it covers, is on our fees page.
How we work it out
- Our legal fee comes from our own fee scale, the same one our online quote uses. It is set by the price band, freehold or leasehold, and whether there is a mortgage. Each fixed line on top of it is shown by its own name.
- Disbursements are our published typical ranges, so the calculator shows a range, not one figure.
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (England) uses the rates in force from 1 April 2025: 0% up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5m and 12% above. First-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% from there to £500,000; above £500,000 there is no relief. If you will own another home after the purchase, 5% is added to every band, unless the price is under £40,000.
- Land Transaction Tax (Wales) main rates: 0% up to £225,000, 6% to £400,000, 7.5% to £750,000, 10% to £1.5m and 12% above. Wales has its own higher rates for additional homes and no first-time buyer relief.
- The Land Registry fee is Scale 1 for an application made online, which is what a resale is. New builds, part transfers and new leases pay the full scale.
Sources, checked 12 October 2026: Stamp Duty Land Tax rates (GOV.UK), Land Transaction Tax rates and bands (GOV.WALES) and HM Land Registry registration fees (GOV.UK). Stamp Duty is worked out for a UK resident buying as an individual: buyers who are not UK resident pay an extra 2%, which the calculator does not include. HMRC has its own Stamp Duty calculator, and HMRC and the Welsh Revenue Authority are the authority on what you owe.
Who oversees our conveyancing
Questions people ask
How much does a solicitor cost to buy a house?
Our legal fee for a standard purchase of a freehold home under £2m, with one mortgage, is £1,010 to £1,910 + VAT (£1,212 to £2,292 including VAT), depending on the price. Third-party costs (disbursements) are typically £319 to £341, for one or two people, including VAT where it applies. Stamp Duty and the Land Registry fee are separate. The calculator on this page shows our fees and disbursements for your price, with Stamp Duty and the Land Registry fee shown separately.
How much does a solicitor cost to sell a house?
Our legal fee for a standard sale of a freehold home under £2m, with one registered mortgage to redeem, is £660 to £1,060 + VAT (£792 to £1,272 including VAT), depending on the price. Third-party costs are typically £46 to £78, for one or two people, including VAT where it applies.
What are average conveyancing fees in the UK?
Fees vary from firm to firm, and we do not publish an average for the market. When you compare quotes, check that each one shows the legal fee, VAT and the third-party costs separately, and says what extra work costs. Our published ranges are on our fees page, and our written quote itemises every line.
What is included in your conveyancing fee?
On a purchase, our fee covers the standard legal work plus these named lines: Preparation of SDLT forms, Application for Registration, File Opening Fee (Non-refundable) and Telegraphic Transfer Fee (Per Transfer). With a mortgage, it also includes the Mortgage Handling/Admin Fee and the Lender Portal Management Fee. The calculator shows each line for your sale or purchase.
Not included: a survey, indemnity premiums, freeholder or managing-agent charges, or lender charges.
Are searches included in conveyancing fees?
Searches are a disbursement: a third-party cost we pay for you, shown apart from our legal fee. They are part of the typical £319 to £341 of disbursements on a purchase. Search fees are set by the local authority the property sits in, so they vary from council to council, and we confirm the exact figure once we know the property.
Do I pay Stamp Duty when I sell?
No. Stamp Duty Land Tax (or Land Transaction Tax in Wales) is paid by the buyer. If you're buying another home at the same time, it may apply to that purchase, and the calculator shows it on its own line, apart from our fees.
Why might my quote differ from this estimate?
The calculator prices a standard transaction. Where a matter needs extra work — leasehold, shared ownership, new build, defective title, or bridging, buy-to-let or Sharia-compliant finance — that work is charged as an additional fixed fee, typically £50 – £750 + VAT per item. It is added to the transaction fee above, never charged instead of it, and is agreed in writing before the work is carried out.
Helpful guides
More free tools, including a moving house checklist.
This calculator gives an estimate for a standard transaction, not advice on your situation. Tax rates and fees are as checked on 12 October 2026. Your written quote confirms our exact figure.