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SDLT relief to end

13/01/2012

KBL Solicitors warn first-time buyers that they will no longer receive an exemption from stamp duty from March this year as the government says the relief has been "ineffective".

The relief will end on March 24th and first time buyers will again have to find additional sums to meet the tax liability which in the current depressed market conditions is unlikely in many cases to be easily achievable.

The temporary exemption meant that first time buyers didn't have to pay stamp duty on homes costing up to £250,000. But documents with Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement reveal the view that the tax relief failed to get more people on the property ladder.

Stamp duty land tax is ordinarily payable on the purchase of residential property at the rate of 1% for consideration over £125,000 but not exceeding £250,000 (with higher rates of tax applying to consideration over £250,000).

The 2010 Budget created a 2 year period within which relief from stamp duty land tax was given to first time buyers where the price paid for a house did not exceed £250,000.

David Johnson, Head of Residential Property at KBL says “The removal of the relief will be another obstacle in the revitalisation of the residential property market. Purchasers should therefore complete as soon as possible to take advantage of the exemption”.