Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland will only be applicable after the first £500,000 on house purchases. The measure has been brought in as part of economic relief to the market. The new stamp duty charges will be applicable until March 2021. The hope is that cutting the stamp duty will encourage people to think about purchasing a house. Currently, first-time buyers don't pay stamp duty on purchases up to £300,000, and £125,000 for others. 

With the new rule in place, no one will pay stamp duty up to £500,000. As a result of this, 90% of those purchasing houses will be able to do so without paying stamp duty

How does this affect you?

If you are planning on buying property in England or Northern Ireland before March 2021, your costs could have reduced due to the new rule. If you were to buy a property that costs £700,000 now, you would only pay a tax of £10,000 - that is, 5% of the £200,000 which is above the £500,000 minimum. 

Only the first slab of SDLT has been changed - the rest of the bands have not been altered. Additionally, Wales and Scotland were not included in this announcement. The higher rate for additional properties will still apply for the entire purchase price (e.g. 3% up to £500k), but the basic rates up to £500k will be zero - giving you significant savings.

Link for calculating the stamp duty

Stamp duty changes