Solicitor Rachel Church considers the Stamp Duty Holiday in England and Northern Ireland.
On Wednesday 8 July 2020, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a temporary reduction in Stamp Duty Land tax payable on residential property transactions in England and Northern Ireland.
The changes, which took effect immediately, will last up to 31st March 2021, raising the stamp duty threshold from £125 000 to £500,000 in an effort to boost the housing market.
Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase of a main residence up to £500,000, for example, will now not be payable, with properties purchased over that figure only paying stamp duty on the value over this amount.
Second home buyers, buy to let landlords and Companies, although still having to pay a 3% surcharge of the property value, will also benefit from the increased threshold.
There are no proposed changes at present to the rates of Land Transaction Tax payable on property transactions in Wales which remain the same. There have been calls from those working in the Property sector in Wales to follow the changes applied in England and Wales in a bid to boost the Welsh Market.
It will be interesting to see what if any response is made by the Welsh Government to these announcements to support the Welsh Housing Market.
There are also no announcements as yet from the Scottish Government in relation to their equivalent Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
If you have any queries regarding the SDLT changes or any potential LTT implications in Wales, contact our team of Property Experts who will be happy to assist you further.
You can also calculate the amount of stamp duty or LTT payable on a potential purchase by using the quoting tool on our website at http://www.jnplegal.org
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