Will Chancellor Act as Stamp Duty Deals End in March

You may or may not be aware, but the stamp duty special rates/reductions will end on 31 March 2025.  This means the new Chancellor; Rachel Reeves has a decision to make.

Homebuyer prices are now back to 96.8% of asking price when a few months ago, 20% were selling below their asking price, so the property market is buoyant and with interest rates being cut and cheaper mortgage deals around, the property market is opening up again.

Homeowner Movers

The nil rate stamp duty threshold will revert to values up to £125,000, down from £250,000 on 31 March 2025.

First Time Buyers

The special ‘first time buyer’ nil rate stamp duty threshold of £425,000 on a property maximum purchase price of £625,000 will reduce to ‘first time buyer’ nil rate stamp duty threshold of £300,000 on a property maximum purchase price of £500,000 on 31 March 2025.

Comment

These represent huge increases in taxes for ‘working people’ and Reeves may be under pressure to hold these concessions given the Labour manifesto promise to not increase taxes on working people.

Support for the first time buyer market is crucial to keep the rest of the property market moving as well as trying to reduce the strain on the rental market.

If Mrs Reeves first moves are to hit pensioners by cutting winter fuel payments and hit younger people with higher stamp duty and hit middle England with higher wealth taxes whilst voting in a new MP payrises and exemptions for MPs for 2^nd Home ‘double council taxes’ for one in London and one in their constituency.