Analysis from Zoopla, one of the UK’s leading property websites, has revealed that the cost of buying a home will increase for the majority of home buyers in England and Northern Ireland from April, when the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) relief introduced in the 2022 mini budget ends and reverts to previous rates.
The impact and extra cost will vary across the country and between existing homeowners and first-time buyers as different rates apply. Overall Zoopla estimates that these changes will raise an extra £1.1bn a year in stamp duty for the government.
| Buyer type | Percentage of sales paying stamp duty today | Percentage of sales paying stamp duty from April 2025 | Extra sales caught by stamp duty from April 2025 | Stamp duty free sales from April 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-time buyer | 21% | 42% | +21% | 58% |
| Homeowner | 49% | 83% | +34% | 17% |
Majority of homeowners to pay more stamp duty
From the 1st April of 2025, four in every five (83%) homeowners will pay stamp duty on buying a main residence, up from 49% today, as the two percent rate between £125,000 and £250,000 returns. Less than a fifth of homeowners (17%) will pay no stamp duty on purchases below £125,000.
This means that the 49% of homeowner purchases over £250,000 will pay an extra £2,500 in stamp duty from April. The 33% of buyers purchasing between £125,000 and £250,000 will pay two percent on the purchase price up to a maximum of £2,500. Zoopla estimates this will generate an additional £900m in stamp duty.
The biggest jump in buyers paying stamp duty will be in the West Midlands where 66% more sales will pay from April, followed by 55% in the East Midlands and 50% in the North West.
The proportion of first-time buyers paying stamp duty doubles
First-time buyers will pay stamp duty on purchases over £300,000 from April, meaning three in five (58%) will avoid this extra cost of buying. This helps those buying in areas with lower house prices. The number of first-time buyers liable to pay stamp duty will be the lowest in the North East (two percent), Yorkshire and the Humber (three percent), Northern Ireland (five percent) and the North West (five percent).
However, the proportion of first-time buyers liable to pay stamp duty will double to 42% from April, hitting London and South East buyers in the £300,000 and £625,000 range the hardest, with costs of up to £15,000 per purchase. Buying at £350,000 will cost £2,500 per purchase, up from £0 today. Buying a £500,000 home will cost £10,000 in stamp duty, up from £3,750 today and buying at £550,000 will jump from £6,250 to £15,000.
Zoopla estimates this will generate an additional £200m in stamp duty.
Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla comments
Existing homeowners will pay up to £2,500 more for each purchase across a large number of sales. The average seller has made £60,000 in capital gains so there is flexibility to absorb this cost but buyers will expect to factor this extra cost into what they offer.
It’s positive that most first-time buyers will still pay no stamp duty from April, but these changes hit those buying over £300,000 in southern England the most where buying costs are already high. This will reduce buying power and market activity at a local level.
Stamp duty is a big tax on home movers in southern England where affordability problems are already a major challenge. The case for reforming stamp duty remains but the question is where to replace the multi billion in annual tax revenues.
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