Homebuyers paid £995m in Stamp Duty Land Tax in February– up 11% from the £899m paid in January.
And according to Coventry Building Society’s analysis of the latest HMRC statistics, last year, homebuyers paid £15.4bn in Stamp Duty – an 18% rise from the £13bn paid in 2024. The increase is largely put down to the nil-rate thresholds falling from £250,000 back to £125,000 last April.
Buyers have now paid £14bn since the thresholds changed.
The £125,000 threshold was initially introduced in December 2014, when the average UK property price was £176,561. According to the latest UK House Price Index, the average price is now £270,259 (December 2025) – an increase of more than £93,000. It means many homes that sat comfortably below tax bands a decade ago now incur a charge simply because prices have climbed.
Commenting on the latest figures Coventry Building Society head of intermediary relationships Jonathan Stinton said: “For many buyers, Stamp Duty has become the hidden cost of moving home. Just when people think they’ve saved enough for a deposit, they realise they’re facing a tax bill which could run into thousands.”
“The problem is the system hasn’t kept pace with house prices. The £125,000 threshold might have seemed appropriate a decade ago, but the average house price has climbed nearly £100k since then – meaning more people are pulled into a higher tax band by default rather than design.
Stinton added that with the Bank of England now expected to hold the base rate rather than cut it this year, borrowing costs would likely stay higher for longer. This only increased pressure on buyers already juggling mortgage rates and upfront moving costs.
He concluded: “Reforming Stamp Duty would give buyers meaningful support at a time when many are already stretched. Updating the thresholds would prevent buyers from being pushed into higher tax bands and allow more of their budget to go toward deposits and essential moving costs. It’s a practical change that would make taking the next step on the property ladder more achievable when pressures across the market continue to build.”
The Conservative Party has launched a petition demanding stamp duty be scrapped on main homes.
The issue is a long-standing one for the Conservatives under leader Kemi Badenoch, who has pledged the party would take action on the tax if voted back into power.
