Reduced Rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax

09 Jul 2020

The Chancellor announced in his budget on 3rd March 2021 that reduced rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax will continue to apply on residential property purchases in England until 30th September 2021.

What does this mean?

Up to 30th June 2021

If you are purchasing a residential property and paying up to £500,000 then it is likely that you will not have to pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax on your purchase which could mean that you save up to £15,000.

If you are purchasing a property for more than £500,000 then you are likely to also benefit from not having to pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax on the first £500,000 of your purchase.

Between 1st July 2021 and 30th September 2021

If you are purchasing a residential property and paying up to £250,000 then it is likely that you will not have to pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax on your purchase.

If you are purchasing a property for more than £250,000 then you are likely to also benefit from not having to pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax on the first £250,000 of your purchase.

Will I have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax if I am purchasing a second property valued up to £500,000?

The reduced rates apply to the standard rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax only.

If you are purchasing a property which is a second home or which is a buy to let property then you are likely to have to still pay the additional property levy on your purchase. For example, if you are purchasing a second home valued at £500,000 which exchanges and completes before 30th June 2021 then you are likely to have to pay Stamp Duty Land tax of £15,000 based on the additional property levy of 3%. Before 8th July 2020 you would have had to pay £30,000 in Stamp Duty Land Tax. As you can see, second home buyers and buy to let property buyers are also likely to benefit from this change and make a saving of up to £15,000 (up to 30th June 2021)

Useful links

More information about these changes can be found on the HMRC website here

You can also use the HMRC SDLT calculator to calculate the amount of SDLT that is likely to be payable – click here to visit the HMRC SDLT calculator website

Any questions

If you have any further questions about the Stamp Duty Land Tax changes then please do not hesitate to contact Stephen Bowden or Amanda Bartlett on 01202 484242.