Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) must normally be paid by purchasers when they buy residential property in England or Northern Ireland for more than £125,000.

This lower threshold was raised to £500,000 from 8 July 2020 to 31 March 2021 and will now remain at that level until 30 June 2021. It will then be reduced to £250,000 from 1 July to 30 September 2021 and will revert to £125,000 from 1 October 2021.

This means that if you are buying your main home and complete the deal on or before 30 June 2021 you will pay no SDLT where the purchase price does not exceed £500,000. This could save you up to £15,000.

Landlords and companies who buy investment properties to let out will benefit from the SDLT holiday but must pay a surcharge at 3% on the entire value of the deal.

Purchasers of property in Wales must pay land transaction tax (LTT) which normally applies to residential property deals above £180,000. A similar LTT holiday has applied in Wales since 26 July 2020 when the lower LTT threshold was raised to £250,000. This threshold will now stay at £250,000 until 30 June 2021. However, investors, second home buyers and companies cannot benefit from the LTT holiday at all.

The Scottish Parliament also applied a land tax holiday on residential properties purchased between 15 July 2020 and 31 March 2021 where the purchase price does not exceed £250,000. However, that tax break will not be extended.

Last updated: April 29th 2021.