March 3rd, 2021
As Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in his budget today, the stamp duty holiday on house purchases has been extended until the end of June 2021.
Since last summer, property buyers have benefitted from the suspension of stamp duty land tax on the first £500,000 of all sales in England and Northern Ireland. Anyone completing a purchase on a main residence costing up to £500,000 before 30 June 2021 will not pay any stamp duty. More expensive properties would only be taxed on their value above that amount.
The tax break was due to end on 31 March 2021. Under the new extension, it will continue until 30 June 2021. After this date, the starting rate of stamp duty will be £250,000 until the end of September 2021. Stamp duty will then return to the usual level of £125,000 from 1 October 2021.
The SDLT holiday extension provides significant relief for both buyers and sellers, especially people who have been rushing to complete prior to the end of the SDLT holiday. It will hopefully boost enthusiasm for property purchases again.
