First-time buyers ‘have just days’ to agree purchases or risk £7,500 Stamp Duty hit ahead of big rule change
First-time buyers ‘have just days’ to agree purchases or risk £7,500 Stamp Duty hit ahead of big rule change
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THOUSANDS of first-time buyers have just days left to get their purchase agreed or face being slapped with a £7,500 stamp duty bill. Currently, first-time buyers do not have to pay stamp duty on the first £450,000 of a property purchase. But from April the threshold beyond which they must pay the tax will plummet to £300,000.
![[a stack of coins sits on top of a stack of twenty pound notes]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0001-thursday-september-3-file-937807075.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Meanwhile, home movers currently only pay land tax on purchases worth £250,000 or more. This threshold will be slashed to £125,000 for owners who want to move up the ladder. The changes are forecast to drag approximately 310,000 more homebuyers in England into paying stamp duty each year, according to Estate Agent Hamptons.
It could add thousands of pounds to the total cost of buying a home. For instance, a first-time buyer who purchases a property worth £450,000 today does not need to pay any stamp duty. But their property tax bill could rise to £7,500 from April. If the same buyer was to purchase a home worth £325,000 then they would need to hand over £1,250 in stamp duty.
As a result, many first-time buyers are “making a dash for the finish line” said Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons. She said: “We have seen a particular uptick in purchases over £425,000, where new buyers face the biggest tax bill hikes.
“With completion times averaging around four months, many of those agreeing sales now find themselves cutting it fine. The next few weeks will be crucial for those hoping to avoid higher stamp duty bills.”. Buyers who want to complete their purchase before the deadline need to act fast as time is running out.
