The Chancellor announced in the Budget on March 3rd that the stamp duty holiday will now be extended. So any sale which manages to complete on or before June 30th 2021 will be excused paying the stamp duty due up to a purchase price of £500,000. In effect anyone buying a property at £500,000 or over will save £15,000 on stamp duty. Buyers will only pay the balance of the duty payable over £500,000. So if you bought a property for say £600,000 between now and June 30th, you will pay the stamp duty due on the balance of £600,000 over £500,000 ie on £100,000. The stamp duty is 5% in this price range so you will pay £5,000. Anyone buying a property for £500,000 or less up to June 30th this year will pay no stamp duty.
Then for sales completing between July 1st and September 30th 2021 there will be a slight taper. Stamp duty for sales completing in those 3 months will be due on the balance over £250,000 rather than over £500,00. In these 3 months if you buy a property for £500,000 you will pay the stamp duty due between £250,000 and £500,000 which is 5% of £250,000, ie £12,500. (If you buy at £600,000 the duty will be £17,500).
From October 1st 2021, everything will revert to full stamp duty which kicks in at purchases over £125,000, – although it is only 2% from there to £250,000. So if you complete a property purchase at £500,000 from October onwards you will pay £15,000 in stamp duty .
So in effect buyers can save up to £15,000 in duty up to 30th June whereas between July and September nearly all buyers in our area will save £2,500 in duty. After September even that smaller incentive will be removed. So the message is if you are thinking of selling or buying in 2021 you are definitely advised to do so earlier rather than later !