Stamp duty holiday to be extended to the end of June saving movers up to £15k in tax in £1bn budget giveaway
RISHI Sunak is preparing to extend the stamp duty holiday by three months until the end of June.
The Chancellor is set to delay the cut off point for buyers to save thousands on purchasing homes with the move.
The Treasury announced last year that it would temporarily raise the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland.
But many people have been left scrambling to complete their transactions before the deadline of March 31, worried that if they do not, they could be left with a £15,000 tax bill.
The deadline will now likely roll on until the summer.
reported that Mr Sunak – who has been urged not to end the stamp duty holiday – will use his Budget next week to move the deadline to the end of June.
Extending the stamp duty holiday could cost the Treasury around £1 billion, according to The Times.
It will go alongside moves to extend furlough and other support measures such as the VAT cut and business rates holiday, which are also due to be extended until the economy can reopen.
The timeline will bring Treasury support in line with the end of Covid restrictions in June, according to the PM’s roadmap.
All rules are expected to be binned by June 21 if the vaccine rollout continues successfully and case numbers remain low.
The Treasury last night refused to comment on market sensitive budget speculation.
A recent report by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) said the tax break had increased house sales to their highest level since before the 2007 financial crisis.
Data shows that after an initial decline in sales between April and June 2020, the number of transactions increased from 132,090 in the second quarter to 225,870 in the third quarter and 316,300 by the end of quarter four – the highest since 2007.
TAX URGE
Meanwhile, more than two dozen Tory MPs have written to Mr Sunak urging him not to raise fuel tax in his Budget.
They say Boris Johnson made a pledge in 2019 not to increase the hated levy and breaking the vow would betray voters.
The 26 Conservatives – including former ministers Tracey Crouch, Esther McVey, David Davis and Iain Duncan Smith said Brits pay more at the pumps than anywhere in the EU.
The 58p-a-litre levy is in the Chancellor’s sights – with as much as a 5p rise being considered – to help plug the Covid black-hole next week.
But the letter shows Downing Street faces a major rebellion on Mr Sunak’s Budget if drivers are targeted.
The warning shot was organised by Rob Halfon MP and Howard Cox, of Fair Fuel UK – who have been working with The Sun to “Keep It Down” for a decade.
It says the move would “create significant economic difficulties” for millions.
What is stamp duty?
STAMP duty land tax (SDLT) is a lump sum payment anyone buying a property or piece of land over a certain price has to pay.
Up until July 8, most house-buyers in England and Northern Ireland had to pay stamp duty on properties over £125,000.
This was temporarily increased to £500,000 until March 31, 2021 in the government’s mini-Budget in July 2020.
The rate a buyer has to fork out varies depending on the price and type of property.
Rates are different depending on whether it is residential, a second home or buy-to-let, or whether you’re a first-time buyer.
The usual system in England for residential properties means:
- First-time buyers pay nothing on properties below £300,000 (and relief available on properties of up to £500,000)
- You pay nothing if the property costs below £125,000
- You pay 2% if it is worth between £125,001 and £250,000
- You pay 5% if between £250,001 and up to £925,000
- You pay 10% if it is between £925,001 and £1.5million
- You pay 12% on anything over £1.5million
For second homes or buy to let properties:
- 3% on purchases up to 125,000
- 5% on purchases between £125,001 and £250,000
- 8% on purchases above £250,001 and £925,000
- 13% on purchases above £925,001 and £1.5 million
- 15% on purchases above £1.5 million
Stamp duty rates are different in and .
