Latest News: Stamp duty cut on the horizon

Published 21st September 2022

The Times newspaper has reported today that Liz Truss is due to cut stamp duty in a mini-budget to take place on Friday 23 September.  

The Times reports that the move comes as part of an attempt to drive economic growth by enabling more first-time buyers to get on the property ladder and boosting property transactions.   Liz Truss is already on record stating that cutting Stamp Duty is ‘critical’ to economic growth.

What are the current stamp duty bands?

The current stamp duty bands are as follows:

• No Stamp Duty is paid on the first £125,000 of any property purchase
• 2% - between £125,001 and £250,000 
• 5% - between £250,001 and £925,000 
• 10% - between £925,001 and £1.5 million 
• 12% - above £1.5 million 
• For first-time buyers the threshold at which stamp duty is paid is £300,000. During the pandemic the threshold was raised to £500,000

How does this affect buyers?

Recent data from Rightmove shows that if the stamp duty cut was on all properties up to £500,000, then 74% of properties in England would be exempt from stamp duty. This could help generate movement into the market as buyers take advantage of tax cut. It could also cause delays to conveyancing transactions as workload increases to meet already strong demand.

Reaction from industry experts

Tom Bill, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, comments:

“Nobody can accuse the new government of lacking an economic vision. If its low-tax approach extends to stamp duty, recent history tells us it will trigger higher levels of demand in the housing market at a time when mortgages are getting more expensive, which will support social mobility.’’

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark comments,

“Some buyers and sellers entering the market are feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis and interest rate rises so a cut to Stamp Duty will certainly ease affordability.’ This is really positive as the benefits of keeping consumer confidence in the housing market is tremendous for the wider economy and creates encouraging ripple effects across many industries.’’

Calculate your stamp duty

Use the Home Legal Direct stamp duty calculator to see how much stamp duty you will currently pay under the current rules.

Source of comments: Publication, The Negotiator