Homebuyers paid

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Homebuyers paid £973m in stamp duty in November, making it a year to date a total of £10.7bn, according to Coventry Building Society’s analysis of HMRC figures.

This is a 27.2% fall on the £14.7bn homebuyers spent in the first 11 months of 2022.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast a 21.9% fall this tax year (£13.0bn in 23/24, £16.7bn in 22/23) in the amount of property transaction taxes paid across the UK. These taxes include Stamp Duty in England and Northern Ireland as well as similar taxes in Wales and Scotland.

The OBR attributes this predicted drop in tax revenue to less movement in the housing market and the temporarily increased nil-rate thresholds for Stamp Duty.

The OBR’s forecast indicates that homebuyers will be paying £22.2bn in property taxes by 2028-29.

Stamp duty was not mentioned in the Autumn Statement, and the current thresholds only remain in place until 31 March 2025.

Coventry Building Society, head of intermediary relationships Jonathan Stinton, said: “For a moment it looked like stamp duty was going to get a mention in the Autumn Statement, but it was sadly a false alarm and another missed opportunity to support homebuyers. Now we’ll be waiting until at least the Spring Budget to see if any changes materialise”.

Stinton pointed out that buyers are getting some temporary relief at the minute because of the extended thresholds, but in just over a year these will be gone and the tax bill on an average priced home will jump up by £2,500.That means buyers would need to start saving an extra £167 per month now just to cover the tax hike on their home.

He added: “In an ideal world there will be a long-awaited stamp duty announcement next Spring, one which will put money back in buyer’s pockets and stop the tax bill on an average priced home virtually doubling overnight.”


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