TrueHomeCosts is a UK home-buying cost information site. It brings the main upfront buying costs into one place so buyers can build a more realistic budget before relying on a deposit-only target.
The site is for first-time buyers, home movers, additional-property buyers and anyone comparing how costs can change across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Reviewed and maintained by the TrueHomeCosts research team, using official UK sources and current market cost ranges.
Why this site exists
Most property websites focus on mortgages or listings. Very few explain the full cost of buying a home in one place.
A buyer can have the deposit ready and still be caught out by solicitor fees, searches, surveys, tax, lender fees, removals, insurance and the first wave of setup costs. TrueHomeCosts was built to show those lines together, in plain UK English, before the pressure of a live purchase.
How our cost estimates work
The calculator combines official-rate items with planning estimates. Property tax rules and some registration fees use published sources where available. Variable costs, such as conveyancing, searches, surveys, mortgage fees, removals, insurance and furnishing, are shown as indicative planning ranges.
The result is not a quote. It is a way to test whether a purchase budget has enough room for the costs that usually sit around the deposit. See the full explanation of how estimates are built.
Official charges vs market estimates
Official charges are costs set by published rules or public fee tables, such as SDLT, LBTT, LTT and relevant registration fees. These can still change when rules change, but they are not market quotes.
Market estimates are different. A solicitor, surveyor, lender, removal firm or insurer can quote more or less depending on the property, region, timing and buyer circumstances. The site keeps those figures separate so buyers can see which numbers are fixed rules and which need checking against real quotes.
Review and update process
Pages are reviewed when tax rules, fee tables or assumptions change. Where a page does not show a specific review date, it follows the current shared review cycle, April 2026 at the time of writing.
Official-rate data is maintained separately from estimate-led assumptions so changes can be made without rewriting every page by hand.
Important note
TrueHomeCosts is built for early-stage planning, not quotes or recommendations. It brings together deposit, tax and additional costs so buyers can understand the full cash requirement before committing to a purchase.
Useful next pages
Start with the main calculator to estimate your total cash requirement, then use the stamp duty guide and methodology page to understand how the numbers are built .
Disclaimer
TrueHomeCosts provides general UK home-buying cost information for planning purposes only. It is not financial, mortgage, tax or legal advice. Costs can change, and buyers should confirm figures with official sources and qualified professionals before making decisions.