210303 mc stamp duty
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03/03/21
Buying

Great news for home buyers

Buyers in England have been boosted by the Chancellor’s decision to extend the stamp duty ‘holiday’ until the end of June.

Currently, buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay no stamp duty on the first £500,000 of a property’s purchase price – saving some people as much as £15,000 – and this will now remain in place until June 30.*

Rishi Sunak announced the decision during today’s spring Budget and also confirmed a new exemption threshold of £250,000 would be in place between June 30 and the end of September before stamp duty reverted to its previous rates from October 1.*

That means, from October, buyers in England will pay:


Minimum purchase price

Maximum purchase price

Stamp duty rate

£0

£125,000

0%

£125,001

£250,000

2%

£250,001

£925,000

5%

£925,001

£1.5 million

10%

£1.5 million +

12%


First-time buyers, however, will be exempt from stamp duty on the first £300,000 of a property’s purchase price, while landlords and buyers of second homes will continue to pay a 3% surcharge on each band.

Fears had been raised that the ‘cliff edge’ effect of ending the ‘holiday’ abruptly on March 31, would cause transactions to fall through at the 11th hour, or leave people facing a larger stamp duty bill than they would have budgeted for.

The extension of the stamp duty deadline will ensure even more homeowners enjoy the benefits and savings of the ‘holiday’, with the market expected to remain strong throughout the summer despite the stamp duty savings coming to an end in June.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor also revealed that government-guaranteed 95 per cent mortgage loans would be available from next month, on the purchase of properties up to the value of £600,000.

*Higher rates apply to additional properties.

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