The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced in his recent budget that the government is extending the temporary stamp duty holiday on the first £500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland by a further three months until the end of June 2021 (it was due to end on 31st March).
From 1st July until the end of September, the nil rate band will drop to £250,000 before returning to its standard rate of £125,000 from the start of October.
This move will come as welcome news for buyers and sellers rushing to complete on property transactions, many of whom faced the prospect of failing to complete before the March 31st deadline.
The tax cut has significantly increased activity in the UK property market recently, with large numbers of buyers seeking to take advantage of the reduced tax rate that can lead to savings of up to £15,000 on a property purchase.
Property transactions across the UK increased by almost 18% in January this year compared with the same month last year according to the latest figures from HMRC, proving that the market remains in robust good health, and indicative of the rush of buyers looking to complete their purchase before the original cut-off point.
The stamp duty holiday also applies to second home buyers, although the extra 3% of stamp duty charged under the previous rules will still need to be paid. The stamp duty holiday temporarily replaces the first-time buyer discount.
You can find out more about Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), the property purchase process and our transparent fixed fee residential conveyancing service below: