How much does it cost to move house? Buying, selling and moving costs

Moving costs fall into two groups. Taxes and official registration fees are set by law or published fee tables, so you can work them out exactly. Everything else is priced by the firm you choose, and no official body publishes averages for legal fees, surveys, estate agents or removals.

Once you have quotes, put them into our Total cost of moving calculator, which works out the tax for you and adds up the rest.

A first-time buyer pays no SDLT on a home costing up to £300,000, as long as every buyer is a first-time buyer and it will be your main home. Without the relief, SDLT on £250,000 would be £2,500. You still need an SDLT return to claim the relief, and your conveyancer usually files it. If you're using a Lifetime ISA, the home must cost £450,000 or less, you must be buying with a mortgage, and a conveyancer or solicitor must act for you.

The fixed costs for one buyer come to £163 before any VAT on the HM Land Registry searches. Everything else depends on the quotes you get.

If you sell your old home on or before the day you complete on the new one, standard rates apply: nothing on the first £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000 (£2,500) and 5% on the remaining £150,000 (£7,500), which is £10,000. If you complete on your purchase while you still own your old home, you'll usually pay the higher rates instead: £30,000 on this price. You can claim back the £20,000 difference if you sell your old main home within 3 years, as long as you claim within 12 months of the sale or of the return's filing date, whichever is later.

The fixed costs on the purchase come to £10,163 before any VAT on the searches. On the sale, the fixed items are small; the big costs are the estate agent and the legal fee. If you have a Help to Buy equity loan, you repay it based on the higher of the market value and the sale price, and you'll need an RICS valuation that you pay for. Our guide to buying and selling at the same time covers the timing.

Tax and registration change at the border. Wales uses Land Transaction Tax and HM Land Registry, and has no first-time buyer relief. Scotland uses LBTT and Registers of Scotland, and the seller has to provide a Home Report.

Worked through: LTT is 0% on the first £225,000 and 6% on the next £175,000, which is £10,500. LBTT is 0% on £145,000, 2% on the next £105,000 (£2,100), 5% on the next £75,000 (£3,750) and 10% on the final £75,000 (£7,500), which is £13,350. Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement is 8% of the whole price and can be reclaimed if you sell your previous main home within 36 months. Registers of Scotland's £660 is its standard fee; your solicitor will confirm the amount for your application.

Estate agents usually charge a percentage of the sale price or a fixed fee, and GOV.UK notes you can use a high street, online or hybrid agent, or sell the home yourself. There's no official average fee. Before you sign, section 18 of the Estate Agents Act 1979 requires the agent to tell you when you'll have to pay, how much or how it's calculated, and about any other charges.

Check three things in the contract. First, when the fee is due: some fees are payable only if contracts are exchanged, others may be due even if you don't sell. Second, the type of agency. Under 'sole selling rights', you pay the agent if contracts are exchanged during the agreement, even if you found the buyer yourself; with more than one agent, you may pay more than one fee. An agent that uses the terms 'sole agency', 'sole selling rights' or 'ready, willing and able purchaser' must explain them to you in writing. Third, VAT: if the agent is VAT-registered, VAT at 20% is added to its fee, so check whether a percentage is quoted 'plus VAT'.

Complain to the agent first, then to the redress scheme it belongs to: The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. In Scotland, a solicitor can also act as your selling agent.

In England and Wales you must order an Energy Performance Certificate before you market your home, unless it already has a valid one. An EPC lasts 10 years, you can look up an existing certificate free on GOV.UK's find an energy certificate service, and you can be fined if you don't have one when you need it.

In Scotland the seller pays for a Home Report: a single survey and valuation, a property questionnaire and an energy report. You must give a copy to a prospective buyer within 9 days of them asking.

Ask your lender how much you owe, whether an early repayment charge applies and whether there are fees to move your mortgage to the new home. On completion your conveyancer pays off the mortgage, the estate agent and its own fee from the sale money. Capital Gains Tax doesn't usually apply to your main home if you've lived in it throughout, haven't let part of it or used part only for business, and the grounds are under 5,000 square metres.

RICS has three levels of Home Survey, introduced under its Home Survey Standard on 1 March 2021. RICS doesn't publish set prices: costs depend on the level and on how large and complex the home is. A survey isn't a legal requirement in England and Wales, but RICS recommends one. The lender's valuation is different: it checks the home is worth what the lender is lending, and it's for the lender's benefit, not yours. In Scotland, the Home Report already includes a Level 2 survey and valuation paid for by the seller.

Mortgage costs to budget for can include a product or arrangement fee, a valuation fee and a broker fee. If you add a fee to the loan, you pay interest on it. Compare deals on their total cost over the initial rate period, not just the interest rate. Our mortgage repayment calculator shows the monthly cost.

Get written quotes from removal firms, ideally after they've seen what you're moving, and check what insurance cover is included and whether packing costs extra. If your completion date could change, ask what it costs to move the booking.

Then budget for the first month: Council Tax, gas, electricity, water and broadband, and contents insurance. Your lender will expect buildings insurance to be in place, and your conveyancer will tell you when it needs to start. For a leasehold home, add service charges and ground rent.