Stamp duty tax: what’s changing?

Well, you’re certainly not alone! We’ve noticed there are more than 700,000 homes going through the sales process right now, which is the highest number we’ve seen in the past decade.

With the stamp duty tax thresholds on property purchases set to change, if you’re thinking of moving soon you can use Rightmove’s stamp duty calculator to work out how much you’ll pay.

When do stamp duty rates change?

It’s been almost a year since the temporary reduction of stamp duty tax rates. The change has meant there is no stamp duty tax to pay for first-time buyers and home movers on purchases priced at or below £500,000 before 30th June. The reduction offers buyers a potential saving of up to £15,000.

The stamp duty holiday has already been extended once, from 31st March to 30th June. From 1st July, there will be a staggered return to previous stamp duty rates, with the nil-rate band lowered from £500,000 to £250,000 until the end of September. From 1st October, it will return to £125,000.

Stamp duty changes: key dates

8th July 2020: Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a temporary cut to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland, raising the nil-rate threshold from £125,000, to £500,000, until 31 March 2021.

3rd March 2021: In his Spring Budget speech, the Chancellor said that due to the high volume of home sales underway, many new purchases wouldn’t have time to complete by the end of March. So the stamp duty holiday was extended by three months, until 30th June. Also, the nil rate band – the portion of the property purchase that does not incur stamp duty tax – would be lowered to £250,000 from July, and only return to the usual level of £125,000 from October 1st, 2021.

30th June 2021: You must complete a property purchase by 30th June to benefit from the maximum stamp duty holiday savings currently in place.

1st July 2021: From 1st July until 30th September, there is a staggered return to previous stamp duty rates. During this time, many buyers of a main home in England or Northern Ireland won’t pay any stamp duty on the first £250,000 of the purchase price.

30th September 2021: You must complete a property purchase by 30th September to benefit from the staggered extension of the stamp duty holiday rates.

1st October 2021: Stamp duty rates are due to return to the levels which were in place prior to 8th July, 2020.

Will there be any changes to Land Transaction Tax (LTT) in Wales?

In Wales, a temporary reduction to Land Transaction Tax was set to end on 31st March, but this was also extended by a further three months and will now end on 30th June 2021.

You can work out how much you will pay by using the Welsh Government’s LTT calculator.

What about Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in Scotland?

In Scotland, there was a Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) holiday, which also offered reduced tax rates for buyers, but the holiday was not extended beyond 31st March this year.

You can view the normal rates on LBTT here.