Stamp Duty Changes – What you need to know

On Friday 23rd September, the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, confirmed a permanent stamp duty cut, with no tax to be paid on properties up to the value of £250,000. This applies to all home-movers and doubled the previous tax-free threshold which was £125,000.

He also increased the threshold for first-time buyers from £300,000 to £425,000.

Homes priced from £250,001 to £925,000 incur Stamp Duty at 5% of the value of the property.

The portion between £925,001 and £1.5m will continue to be taxed at 10%, and any property worth more than that will be subject to stamp duty rates of 12%.

Stamp duty is a tax paid in England and Northern Ireland only. A similar tax is paid in Scotland and Wales but under a slightly different name and with different thresholds.
The change in England and Northern Ireland is immediate so if you have exchanged contracts but have not yet legally completed your home purchase you will benefit from the change.

Contact your solicitor if you have any concerns and to ensure the new rules are applied.