Warning issued to anyone buying a home for more than £300,000 next year

A warning has been issued to anyone buying a property priced at more than £300,000 next year. A new rule introduced in the Government’s autumn budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves will see homeowners now paying more in stamp duty.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is an amount you pay when you buy houses, flats and other land and buildings over a certain price in the UK. First-time buyers are exempt from paying stamp duty up to an initial threshold of £300,000, if the price of the property they are purchasing is below £500,000.

But for those who are already on the property ladder, and are looking to move from April 1 next year, they could find their stamp duty bill more than double.

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Based on the average UK house price of £293,000, those buying a house next year could see their tax more than double from £2,150 to £4,650.

Based on average house prices per region, those looking to move house will see a typical increase of around £2,500 across many areas.

The stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers was reduced from £425,0000 to £300,000, which will give thousands of first-time buyers an additional tax liability, which has the potential to affect affordably across some regions.

First-time buyers in London hoping to purchase an average priced house at £531,212 are set to be worst affected, having to find an additional £11,250 when the changes take effect.

Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, comments: “The Autumn Budget will likely uplift the housing market over the coming months, as people potentially look to complete before any increases on Stamp Duty come into effect next April.

"It is however important to consider continued house price growth, even in the short to medium term, as overall pricing gains should outweigh any proposed stamp duty increases for the very highest percentage of buyers.”

Here are the new stamp duty thresholds coming into force from April 1 next year: