Stamp Duty Holiday
Extremely welcome news for homebuyers was recently announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak: all Stamp Duty for properties in England and Northern Ireland has been scrapped for homes under £500,000 until March 31st 2021.
This temporary Stamp Duty holiday is expected to benefit nine out of ten buyers whether first-time buyers, or those moving up or down the property ladder. While an average saving of £4,500 is expected, many buyers stand to save significantly more.
Essentially, the first £500k of a purchase price will incur no Stamp Duty, and if say, you’re buying a place worth £600k, you’ll only be paying Stamp Duty of 5% on £100k – in this instance, £5,000. Under the previous scheme, if you were not a first-time buyer, you’d be paying £23,750. This is obviously a massive saving and brilliant incentive to act quickly before the window closes.
New Stamp Duty holiday rates
- Up to £500,000: 0%
- On the portion from £500,001 to £925,000: 5%
- On the portion from £925,001 to £1.5m: 10%
- Above £1.5m: 12%
The normal Stamp Duty rates
[buyers will revert to paying these rates from April 1st, 2021]
- Up to £125,000: 0%
- On the portion from £125,001 to £250,000: 2%
- On the portion from £250,001 to £925,000: 5%
- On the portion from £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%
- Above £1.5m: 12%
