On the 8th July 2020 The Chancellor of The Exchequer announced a temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday until the 31st May 2021 on all purchases up to £500,000
What is Stamp Duty?
Stamp Duty, also known as SDLT, is a tax paid when a property or land is purchased in the UK, the cost of which is dependent on your circumstances and the purchase price of the property itself
What does this mean for property buyers?
What this means is until the 31st May 2021, anyone buying a property as their home or only property will not have to pay any Stamp Duty on the first £500,000 which means a potential saving of up to £15,000
The good news doesn’t stop there. Limited Companies and Buy to Let owners, will also benefit from this change, as the only Stamp Duty they will be liable to pay will be the 3% surcharge which was introduced back in 2016.
To put this into perspective with some figures, on a property worth £500,000 the stamp duty on a second or rental property would have been £30,000. Until the 31st March 2021 this will now be £15,000, resulting in a saving of £15,000
What does this mean for the market?
In terms of Buying and Selling, this is great news. As buyers will be saving money, making all potential deals on the horizon more attractive, whether it’s an investment property or a new home. For sellers it means more buyers returning to the market, who will be keen to purchase and complete on a property before the deadline in March 2021 when the Stamp Duty Holiday ends. Buyers may now even consider to put forward increased offers forward for a property, as they will now have the spare financial buffer to do so.
The deadline for completion of a sale to benefit from the Stamp Duty Holiday, is by the 31st March 2021.
