Stamp Duty – What is changing?

First of all, what is Stamp Duty? The phrase is bandied around in the property world – but what does it mean?

Stamp Duty is a type of tax. You must pay it when purchasing a property or land in the UK & Ireland.

The amount of stamp duty you pay depends on the cost of the property, whether it will be used for residential purposes, and whether you own any other property.

The level at which stamp duty is owed, is changeable by the government and is usually part of their budget considerations.

In response to the Covid pandemic, and as an incentive to encourage people to move home, the government removed stamp duty on the first £500,000 of a property for transactions completed by 30 June 2021.

This was ‘tapered’ from then until 30 September 2021, meaning homebuyers did not have to pay stamp duty on the first £250,000, saving up to £2,500.

At the moment, buyers of homes worth less than £250,000 don’t pay stamp duty. This was doubled from £125,000 under Liz Truss’s mini-Budget in September 2022.

The threshold is £425,000 for those buying their first property. This was raised from £300,000 as part of the mini-Budget.

However, in April 2025, it is changing again and the Stamp Duty is expected to revert to previous levels.

• The nil rate threshold which is currently £250,000 will return to the previous level of £125,000.
• The nil rate threshold for first time buyers which is currently £425,000 will return to the previous level of £300,000.
• The maximum purchase price for which First-Time Buyers Relief can be claimed is currently £625,000 and will return to the previous level of £500,000.

What does this look like with a real life example?

Zoopla report that the average house price in Hove is currently £550,000.

If we imagine someone is buying a house now (not as a first time buyer) they will be paying the below (calculated using gov.uk website, as a single / married couple moving home, not as a second home)