Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) - Changes and How They Affect You
Posted on 1st November 2024 at 13:14
The current SDLT charges are set to change from 1st April 2025. Since the government announced a temporary cut in SDLT charges in September 2022, thousands of households have benefitted from paying reduced or zero SDLT to HMRC when completing their house purchase.
Under the scheme, homebuyers paid zero tax up to £250,000 whilst First Time Buyers benefitted from a zero rate up to £425,000. All this is set to end with a deadline of 31st March 2025 for people to complete their home purchases.
Any transaction completing after this date will have SDLT charged on the previous scale with a nil rate up to £125,000 and First Time Buyers being exempt up to £300,000.
The new charges from 1st April 2025:
Up to £125,000 - nil
The next £125,000 (the portion from £125,001 to £250,000) – 2%
The next £675,000 (the portion from £250,001 to £925,000) – 5%
The next £575,000 (the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million) – 10%
The remaining amount (the portion above £1.5 million) – 12%
A 3% increase is applied to the above figures if the property is being purchased as an additional home.
With the average house sale taking 25 weeks from agreeing a sale to completion this change will already be likely to effect some of those people currently in the process of buying. 25 weeks back from 31st March would have been 7th October so the clock is well and truly ticking.
It is likely that the current chancellor will confirm at the forthcoming budget that the current cuts will not be extended beyond the 31st March so make sure you are budgeting for the extra cost when buying.
As always, we love to hear your thoughts and are happy to answer any questions you have by either dropping us a message, calling 01452 260993 or emailing enquiries@rbwalters.co.uk
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