Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced this morning a cut in stamp duty land tax (SDLT), a move which is expected to push up the demand for property once again.
Kwarteng revealed a package of major cuts to SDLT, with the changes expected to increase additional residential investment, boost spending on household goods, and support hundreds of thousands of jobs in the property industry. The tax cut takes effect from Friday midnight and applies in England and Northern Ireland.
The nil rate band will be doubled from £125,000 to £250,000, which could enable 200,000 more people every year to buy a home without paying any stamp duty at all.
The government has also extended its support to first-time buyers, who will no longer pay stamp duty up to £425,000. It has also increased the value of the property on which first-time buyers can claim relief, from £500,000 to £625,000.
The cuts to stamp duty are part of Kwarteng’s new growth plan, which hopes to deliver Prime Minister Liz Truss’s campaign promise to slash taxes to boost the country’s economy and alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.