14/11/2019
Stamp duty receipts in England and Northern Ireland down 7% in 2018/19
The Treasury’s take from stamp duty land tax fell by the largest amount since the start of 2008/09, government figures show.
In England and Northern Ireland, HMRC collected £11.94 million in stamp duty receipts on completed property or land purchases in 2018/19 – a 7% decline on the previous tax year.
That represents the biggest drop since the peak of the recession in 2008/09, and was largely fuelled by a 10% fall in residential stamp duty receipts.
The Revenue puts that down to the introduction of a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers and devolution of the property tax to Wales, which has been setting its own rates since 1 April 2018.
It estimated the drop in stamp duty receipts would have been significantly lower – at around 3% – if these two measures were not in place.
First-time buyers’ relief was introduced in November 2017, with all property purchases of less than £300,000 being exempt from stamp duty.
This stamp duty holiday applied in Wales for just over four months, before being replaced in April 2018 by the Welsh Assembly’s land transaction tax.
In Scotland, stamp duty was replaced on 1 April 2015 by land and buildings transaction tax.
UK Finance and the Treasury both refused to comment on the most recent findings.
For further information on Stamp Duty Land Tax, please contact Tom Young on 023 8046 1254.
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