The government has published data confirming that the UK property market has been given a major boost by the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday.
Results for the second quarter of 2021 show that total SDLT transactions jumped 165 per cent compared to the same period last year and are up nine per cent compared to the first quarter.
The government introduced a stamp duty holiday in July 2020 slashing taxes on properties under £500,000 until 30 June 2021.
Despite the tax holiday revenue from tax receipts has surged.
The taxman’s coffers benefitted from stamp duty paid to HMRC soaring year on year by 92 per cent in the second quarter.
Tax receipts totalled £2.85bn despite the proportion of eligible transactions falling from 64 to 37 per cent.
The government raised an additional £19m from a two per cent surcharge on non-resident purchasers of properties introduced in April 2021 indicating that UK property remains attractive to overseas buyers.
Zena Hanks, a partner in the private wealth team at Saffery Champness, said the results are “evidence of the dramatic impact that the SDLT-holiday has had in stimulating the property market.”
Hanks said, “The fact that reducing the tax burden on property transactions has stimulated such a flurry of activity in the market may convince the Chancellor to employ this technique in pursuit of other policy objectives – for example, reducing the SDLT burden on older people looking to downsize.”
Between 1 July and 30 September the stamp duty holiday will continue for properties under £250,000 with the threshold for the nil tax rate returning to £125,000 from 1 October.
Read more: Rush to beat stamp duty cut off lifts Rightmove profits
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