Stamp Duty Cut saves Bedfordshire homebuyers a minumum of £2,500 up to a whopping £11,250!
Today's mini-budget has included help for homebuyers with a Stamp Duty cut - read more about this cut and how much you could save!
Today, 23rd September 2023 has seen the UK Government cut the Stamp Duty to help make buying a home a little more affordable for all house buyers.
What is Stamp Duty?
Stamp Duty (or Stamp Duty Land Tax to be precise) is a tax buyers pay when purchasing a property.. The amount that is paid depends on the property value with the buyers of larger properties paying the most, it can be over £100,000 for large properties. This tax has been in place since 1950's.although the rates and how it has been calculated has been revised many times on the years, particularly recently with Stamp Duty holidays following the first Covid lockdown.
What has changed?
There have been a number of changes and it will bnefit all buyers but the key changes include,
First time buyers do not have to pay Stamp Duty on any property with a purchase price up to £425,000 which has been lifted from £300,000. If buying at £400,000 this is a £5,000 saving.
First time buyers can buy a property up to £625,000 and only pay Stamp Duty on the amount over £425,000. If buying at £600,000 the Stamp Duty would be £8,750 down from £20,000 - a £11,250 saving.
Current home owners looking to move also benefit as the threshold before paying Stamp Duty has been lifted from £125,000 to £250,000 so they will not pay Stamp Duty on the first £250,000 of the property value. A saving of £2,500
When does it start?
It comes into force from today. If you haven't yet moved you will benefit from this cut.
When does the Stamp Duty cut finish?
Unlike the previous Stamp Duty holidays this is a permanent change to the current Stamp Duty charges and is not a temporary measure therefore it does not have an expiry date.
What about Landlords?
We are unsure if Landlords will be able to benefit from this reduction in Stamp Duty when purchasing properties to rent. We are waiting for confirmation when the small print is released and will update this blog as soon as we can. We do not expect the additional 3% Stamp Duty surcharge for an additional property purchase to change.
How can I calculate the Stamp Duty I will have to pay?
Stamp Duty is a confusing tax with different people paying differing amounts and staggered increases at various stages. If you want to know how much Stamp Duty you will be paying please contact me (stuart@urbanandrural.com) or you can use the official HMRC Stamp Duty calculator (click here) however at the time of writing this has not been updated with the new rates.