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Latest Stamp Duty Land Tax rates and thresholds
Updated Stamp Duty land tax
rates 2010
The
Government changes to the Stamp duty land tax lifted the 'tax
holiday' and the rates again returned to those of pre-2009.
The
new stamp duty land tax rates being:
| Up to £125,000 (from
1st january 2010) |
Zero |
| Over £125,000 to £250,000 |
1% |
| Over £250,000 to £500,000 |
3% |
| Over £500,000 |
4% |
2009
The 2009 budget kept stamp
duty zero rated for property Up to £175,000 until 31st
December 2009
Residential land or property
Stamp Duty Land Tax rates and thresholds
| Up to £175,000 (until 31 December 2009 - see note
above) |
Zero |
| Over £175,000 to £250,000 |
1% |
| Over £250,000 to £500,000 |
3% |
| Over £500,000 |
4% |
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged on land and property
transactions in the UK. The tax is charged at different rates
and has different thresholds for different types of property
and different values of transaction.
The tax rate and payment threshold can vary according to
whether the property is in residential or non-residential use,
and whether it is a freehold or leasehold. SDLT relief is
available for certain kinds of property or transaction.
If the value is above the payment threshold, SDLT is
charged at the appropriate rate on the whole of the amount
paid. For example, a house bought for £180,000 is charged at
1 per cent, so £1,800 must be paid in SDLT. A house bought
for £350,000 is charged at 3 per cent, so SDLT of £10,500 is
payable.
SDLT rates for residential property
The table below applies for all freehold residential
purchases and transfers and the premium paid for a new lease
or the assignment of an existing lease. (If the property will
be used for both residential and non-residential purposes the
rates differ - please see the section 'SDLT for
non-residential or mixed use property'.)
New thresholds from September 2008
The £175,000 threshold shown in the table applies from 3
September 2008 until 31 December 2009 inclusive (unless the
lease is for less than 21 years - see the later section on
this). The new threshold means that Disadvantaged Areas
Relief, previously available for properties in areas
designated as 'disadvantaged', doesn't apply during this
period. Read more about this relief in section 'Properties
bought in a disadvantaged area'.
New leases
If the transaction involves the purchase of a new lease
with a substantial rent there may be an additional SDLT charge
to that shown below, based on the rent. See the next section
and further table 'SDLT on rent for new leasehold properties
(residential)' for more detail.
Residential land or property SDLT rates and thresholds
| Up to £175,000 (until 31 December 2009 - see note
above) |
Zero |
| Over £175,000 to £250,000 |
1% |
| Over £250,000 to £500,000 |
3% |
| Over £500,000 |
4% |
If the value is above the payment threshold, SDLT is
charged at the appropriate rate on the whole of the amount
paid. For example, a house bought for £180,000 is charged at
1 per cent, so £1,800 must be paid in SDLT. A house bought
for £350,000 is charged at 3 per cent, so SDLT of £10,500 is
payable.
Special rules for residential leases of less than 21 years
Note that the temporary SDLT threshold of £175,000 for
residential property transactions does not apply to:
- the assignment of an existing lease which has less than
21 years to run
- the grant of a lease for a term of less than 21 years
In these cases the normal thresholds of £125,000 (£150,000
if the property is situated in a disadvantaged area) apply.
Properties bought in a disadvantaged area
Disadvantaged Areas Relief (whereby residential properties
bought in areas designated by the government as
'disadvantaged' had a higher SDLT threshold of £150,000) will
not apply for residential only property purchases between 3
September 2008 and 31 December 2009 inclusive. Instead the
SDLT threshold will be the same as for all other residential
property as shown above. The only exception is where the lease
is for less than 21 years - as described earlier.
Some property transactions in a disadvantaged area may have
both residential and non-residential parts - eg a shop with a
flat above. In this case the temporary £175,000 threshold
between 3 September 2008 and 31 December 2009 inclusive does
not apply. For SDLT purposes, the property value is
apportioned on a fair and reasonable basis between the two
uses. If the amount attributed to the residential element does
not exceed £150,000 then Disadvantaged Areas Relief will
apply to that element and a separate £150,000 threshold
applies to the non-residential element.
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History stamp duty
2005
Home buyers given a stamp
duty boost
The stamp duty threshold was been doubled to £120,000 in
2005 providing a welcome boost to UK homebuyers.
The move, announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown in his ninth
Budget, should reduce the costs for people looking to buy
their first home.
Regional house price differences mean that raising the
threshold will have a greater impact in the north and west of
the UK than in the south east.
About 100,000 homes will be available through shared
ownership schemes.
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Raising the threshold will have little effect in
the south of England but quite a major one in other
parts of the UK 
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Regional differences
Fewer than one in 25 properties sold in
London last year cost less than £120,000.
However, in the north east of England, two thirds of
properties sold cost less than £120,000.
"Raising the threshold will have little effect in the
south of England but quite a major one in other parts of the
UK," Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist, told BBC
News.
But Mr Ellis does not believe that raising the threshold
will reignite the UK housing market.
"Whenever the government has raised the stamp duty
threshold in the past, it has had little or no impact on the
housing market, this time is unlikely to be different."
Scepticism
 Milan
Khatri, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors (RICS), told BBC News that raising the threshold
will not, on its own, enable first-time buyers to clamber onto
the property ladder.
Milan Khatri, chief economist at the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS), told BBC News that raising the
threshold will not, on its own, enable first-time buyers to
clamber onto the property ladder.
"This grabs some nice headlines in the run-up to an
election but doesn't do anything about affordability.
"It will be no easier to get a large-enough mortgage
or save a sizeable deposit because of this move.
"First-time buyers will be pleased that they will have
a little extra cash in their pockets at a time when usually
money is short."
Tax take
The chancellor's announcement represents the first rise in
the stamp duty threshold since 1993.
Then, buyers had a much greater chance of avoiding stamp
duty, with close to half a million properties - in England and
Wales alone -selling for less than £60,000.
However, average UK property prices have more than doubled
in the past six years while the threshold for stamp duty has
remained unchanged.
As a result, the number of properties incurring stamp duty
has rocketed as has the government's tax take.
Halifax bank has estimated that revenue from stamp duty on
house sales has risen from £465m in 1993-4 to £4.3bn in the
current tax year.
"The cost to the government of raising the threshold
is small beer compared to the overall increase in the stamp
duty take," Mr Ellis said.
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