Stamp Duty holiday extension

 

What is Stamp Duty?

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is applied to some residential property purchases in England and Northern Ireland. Ordinarily, there are different tax rates for different purchase prices ranging from 0% (up to £125,000) to 12% (in excess of £1,500,000).

About the Stamp Duty holiday

The Stamp Duty holiday was first introduced in July 2020 by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help give the housing market a boost throughout the pandemic. It was due to end on the 31st of March 2021 but has been extended to the 30th of June 2021. Anyone who wishes to benefit from the break needs to complete on or before this date. In England and Northern Ireland all purchase tax (Stamp Duty) has been suspended on the first £500,000 of the property price.  This decision was made as the housing market was declining through the uncertainty that COVID-19 brought to the economy.

After the 30th of June, the Stamp Duty break will only apply to £250,000 of the property price, which is still twice the normal rate, this will be in place until the end of September. This means that you can still benefit from the break until the 1st of October which is when it will return to the normal rate of £125,000.

If you are currently in the process of purchasing a house this will come as a huge relief as you could be saving some money which can help with other aspects throughout the process, which can be costly!

 Do you need to apply for the stamp duty holiday?

No, you do not need to apply to receive the discounted SDLT rates. The discount will be automatically applied on all house purchases (under £500,000) and according to BBC, nearly 9 out of 10 buyers will pay no Stamp Duty! It is estimated that the average Stamp Duty bill will fall by £4,500.

What’s next?

If you are looking to take advantage of the government’s Stamp Duty holiday, we could help. We offer a range of residential mortgage products to suit your circumstances, with personal in-house mortgage advisers, no arrangement or overpayment fees and mortgage repayments straight from your payroll (available in 28 forces). Click the button below and arrange a call back with one of our friendly team to discuss your circumstances. ­

 

 

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