Stamp duty tax receipts for April and May came in at £2.4bn, data from HMRC shows, a fall of £1.1bn on the same period a year earlier.   

The official customs body says the majority of this fall, £900m, is due to lower transaction numbers, the lower rate of taxation and a more generous relief for first-time buyers introduced last September.  

The data comes after the number of mortgage approvals hit 48,700 in April, a fall on the number made the previous month, according to the Bank of England earlier this month.  

The Bank’s figures show that April’s numbers are down from the 51,500 approvals in March and indicates the market is again declining after two months of slim growth.   

However, the number of approvals for remortgaging increased slightly, from 32,200 to 32,500 during the same period.  

Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis Helen Morrissey says: “After years of flying high, stamp taxes took a dive – down £1.1bn on the same period last year.  

“More generous relief will have played a part, but much of the fall is driven by housing market woes.   

“A toxic mix of the cost-of-living crisis and surging mortgage rates has dampened demand in this once surging market.   

“With interest rates on the rise and mortgage deals being taken off the table, there’s little chance of seeing a bounce back in demand any time soon.”  

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to lift the base rate, by 25 basis points, or by as much as 50 basis points, from its current 4.5% level, tomorrow.