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Good news for homebuyers!
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Last week’s announcement by Chancellor Rishi Sunak that the stamp duty threshold has been raised with immediate effect to £500,000 until 31 March 2021 is welcome news for homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland. This move will cut the average stamp duty bill by approximately £4,500, with almost 90% of homebuyers set to pay no stamp duty at all. Those buying second homes and investors purchasing buy-to-let properties will also benefit, however they will still be required to pay the 3% extra duty due on the entire price.
For homes costing more than £500,000, buyers will pay no stamp duty on the first £500,000, 5% on the remaining sold price up to £925,000 and 10% on homes up to £1.5 million. For homes costing over £1.5 million this increases to 12%. As an example, the stamp duty on a £750,000 house will be £9,286 – a saving of £15,000 from the previous amount of £24,286 that a homebuyer would have had to pay.
The announcement of this eight month stamp duty holiday has had an immediate impact on buyer interest; Rightmove reported that traffic to its website jumped by 22% within 30 minutes of the announcement so this will also be good news for vendors. It is an opportunity for buyers to secure their dream home with a significant saving on stamp duty and for vendors to take advantage of increased activity levels in the property market.
To calculate the revised stamp duty payable on the property you are looking to purchase click here or contact your local Frost office.
