Homebuyers have paid out almost £3.7bn in stamp duty over the year to February, new analysis by Benham and Reeves of Land Registry data has shown.

The London lettings and estate agent found that buyers in the capital paid an estimated £1.49bn, accounting for more than 40% of the total for England and Wales.

London boroughs accounted for 17 of the 20 locations with the highest stamp duty bills.

Kensington and Chelsea topped the table with buyers paying £207m in stamp duty over the year, or nearly 6% of the bill for England and Wales.

Westminster also accounted for 5% of the national stamp duty bill, with an estimated £184m paid over the last 12 months.

Wandsworth had the third highest annual stamp duty bill at £109m.

Outside the capital, Buckinghamshire had the highest stamp duty total at almost £76m, followed by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole where buyers paid £38m and Cornwall where they paid £33m (£32.7m) the only other areas outside of London to make the top 20.

Benham and Reeves director Marc von Grundherr says: “Stamp duty is an outdated tax grab that acts as nothing more than a thorn in the side of the nation’s homebuyers and one that has remained there due to the greed of a stubborn government intent on taxing our ascent up the property ladder.

“Now more than ever, the calls to abolish stamp duty must be heard.

“In the last year we’ve seen a considerable reduction in buyer market activity as they’ve struggled to overcome the obstacle of higher mortgage rates and it simply isn’t right that they have to also contend with the ever increasing cost of stamp duty to boot.”