Great news for buyers - the cost of buying a property has just gotten cheaper. For a short time anyway
The Government are to offer a “Stamp Duty Holiday” immediately until 31st March 2021 which will increase the threshold when Stamp Duty Land Tax is payable from £125,000 for home movers and £300,000 for first time buyers to £500,000.
This means if you were buying at £250,000 and had previously owned a property, your Stamp Duty liability would drop from £2,500 to zero. And if you are buying at a higher price say £450,000, this could drop your tax from £12,500 to zero for a next time buyer or £7,500 to zero for a First-Time buyer
If you are buying a second property (this could be a holiday home, rental or part of a Let to Buy transaction) you will qualify for the discount but will still need to pay 3% stamp duty surcharge on the purchase price. So, if you bought an additional property for £300,00 your tax liability would drop from £14,000 to £9,000.
You can check the HMRC calculator below for guidance: