Government bags £884.2m in SDLT despite threshold changes

Research by Quickmove Properties estimate that, despite changes to stamp duty thresholds implemented last September designed to save homebuyers money, the nation has still paid an estimated £884.3m in the following six months, climbing to £2.9 billion over the last year. 

Following the stamp duty holiday that helped spur the pandemic property market boom, the Government announced that from 23rd September last year, homes valued up to £250,000 would remain exempt from Stamp Duty Land Tax. Homes valued between £250,001 and £950,000 would pay a rate of 5%, while homes of higher values would pay 10% (£925,001 to £1.5m) and 15% (£1.5m+). 

The figures from Quickmove Properties show that today, this means the average homebuyer is paying £2,678 in SDLT on the current average house price of £303,557. 

Those purchasing the average flat (£249,976) and terraced house (£247,907) are stamp duty exempt, while those purchasing a semi-detached home (£298,575) are paying £1,979 climbing to £11,403 for the average detached property purchase (£478,030). However, what many people don’t realise is that a brand new park home is also stamp duty exempt, despite offering more space than a flat or terraced home. 

This means that the stamp duty bill owed by the average homebuyer across England has fallen by £2,252 compared to this time last year, however, it still remains £309 higher versus five years ago and £872 up compared to a decade ago. 

Despite this silver lining for the nation’s homebuyers, the figures from Quickmove Properties also show that in the last 12 months (April 2022 to March 2023 - latest available), some 679,293 homes have sold across England, paying an estimated £2.9 billion in stamp duty in the process. 

Since October of last year alone, following the Government’s most recent stamp duty overhaul, homebuyers have contributed £884.2m in stamp duty tax over the course of just six months.  

A Quickmove spokesperson says: “Stamp duty is little more than an additional financial hurdle that many homebuyers face and one that arguably should have been done away with many moons ago. Even with the Government’s tinkering, the average buyer is still looking at a bill of almost £3,000 in the current market and this only increases as you climb the ladder and buy a bigger, more valuable home. 

“It’s certainly one further aspect where the park home sector has the bricks and mortar market beaten, with park homes requiring no stamp duty paid on them whatsoever. 

“This is often a big plus in the eyes of park home buyers, who don’t see why they should have to pay out a considerable sum of the equity they have made on a land tax first introduced to fight a war against France.”

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