STAMP DUTY HOLIDAY EXPLAINED

Tue 21 Jul 2020

The chancellor has announced a temporary holiday on stamp duty on the first £500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland, until 31 March 2021.

Anyone completing on a main residence costing up to £500,000 between 8 July and 31 March will not pay any stamp duty, and more expensive properties will only be taxed on their value above that amount.

This will save buyers as much as £15,000, if they are buying a property of £500,000 or more.

If the property purchased is your main home you won't pay any stamp duty on it at all if it costs £500,000 or less.

The next portion of the property's price (£500,001 to £925,000) will be taxed at 5%, and the £575,000 after that (£925,001 to £1.5 million) will be taxed at 10%. The remaining amount (over £1.5 million) will be taxed at 12%.

Landlords and second home buyers are also eligible for the tax cut but will still have to pay the extra 3% of stamp duty they were charged under the previous rules.

The move is aimed towards boosting the housing market as well as hopefully helping buyers who have taken a financial hit because of the coronavirus crisis.

Since the announcement and from a local market perspective, Charter Whyman has seen a substantial increase in the number of valuation requests and the feedback from sellers and buyers has been extremely positive.

NOW REALLY IS A GOOD TIME TO MAKE A MOVE!