With the 1 April deadline fast approaching 550,000 house buyers are desperately trying to get their property purchases over the line before reduced stamp duty reverts to 2022 rates, up 25% on this corresponding period last year when 411,000 properties were in the same position, Rightmove revealed earlier this week.
From April, the £250,000 stamp duty land tax (SDLT) exemption will be removed and only the first £125,000 of a property purchase will be SDLT exempt, with a 2% rate charged from £125,000 to £250,000, meaning a bill of up to £10,000.
The impact and additional cost will vary across the country and between existing homeowners and first-time buyers as different rates apply.
Zoopla estimates that these changes will raise an extra £1.1bn a year in stamp duty for the government
Stamp duty today and after 1st April 2025
|
Buyer type |
Percentage of sales paying stamp duty today | Percentage of sales paying stamp duty from April 2025 | Extra sales caught by stamp duty from April 2025 | Stamp duty free sales from April 2025 |
| First-time buyer | 21% | 42% | +21% | 58% |
| Homeowner | 49% | 83% | +34% | 17% |
Source: Zoopla analysis of applicant enquiries by type of buyer and property price Q4 2024 – excludes the impact of those buying ‘additional’ homes
From the 1st April of 2025, four in every five (83%) homeowners will pay stamp duty on buying a main residence, up from 49% today, as the 2% rate between £125,000 and £250,000 returns. Less than a fifth of homeowners (17%) will pay no stamp duty on purchases below £125,000.
This means that the 49% of homeowner purchases over £250,000 will pay an extra £2,500 in stamp duty from April. The 33% of buyers purchasing between £125,000 and £250,000 will pay 2% on the purchase price up to a maximum of £2,500. Zoopla estimates this will generate an additional £900m in stamp duty.
The biggest jump in buyers paying stamp duty will be in the West Midlands where 66% more sales will pay from April, followed by 55% in the East Midlands and 50% in the North West.
Percentage of homeowners paying stamp duty, now and after 1st April 2025
| Region | Percentage of sales paying stamp duty today | Percentage of sales paying stamp duty from April 2025 | Percentage uplift in sales paying stamp duty |
| North East | 7% | 40% | 33% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 8% | 56% | 47% |
| Northern Ireland | 10% | 59% | 50% |
| North West | 16% | 83% | 67% |
| West Midlands | 20% | 61% | 41% |
| East Midlands | 29% | 84% | 55% |
| South West | 49% | 90% | 41% |
| Eastern England | 73% | 95% | 21% |
| South East | 75% | 95% | 20% |
| London | 89% | 97% | 8% |
| England & NI | 49% | 83% | 34% |
Source: Zoopla analysis of buyer enquiries to estate agents
First-time buyers will pay stamp duty on purchases over £300,000 from April, meaning three in five (58 per cent) will avoid this extra cost of buying. This helps those buying in areas with lower house prices. The number of first-time buyers liable to pay stamp duty will be the lowest in the North East (2%), Yorkshire and the Humber (3%), Northern Ireland (5%) and the North West (5%).
However, the proportion of first-time buyers liable to pay stamp duty will double to 42% from April, hitting London and South East buyers in the £300,000 and £625,000 range the hardest, with costs of up to £15,000 per purchase. Buying at £350,000 will cost £2,500 per purchase, up from £0 today. Buying a £500,000 home will cost £10,000 in stamp duty, up from £3,750 today and buying at £550,000 will jump from £6,250 to £15,000.
Simon Gerrard, chairman, Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, said: “These upcoming stamp duty changes will disproportionately affect first-time buyers in London, where housing is much more expensive, with 97% of sales set to pay Stamp Duty from April. In other areas, the impacts will be less pronounced. On the ground, we saw a big uptick in interest from first-time buyers in the last few months as they sought to get ahead of the changes, which will add thousands to the cost of buying a home.
Zoopla estimates that the stamp duty tax hike will generate an additional £200m in stamp duty.
Toby Leek, NAEA Propertymark president, commented: “The increase in stamp duty charges from April is clearly going to impact buyers in some parts of the country more than others. London and the South East are the two most expensive regions in England to buy a house, and April’s changes will make it harder for first-time buyers to step onto the housing ladder compared to those living in the North of England.”
Percentage of first-time buyers paying stamp duty, now and after 1st April 2025
| Region | Percentage of FTBs paying stamp duty today | FTBs paying stamp duty from April 2025 | Percentage uplift |
| North East | 0% | 2% | 1% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Northern Ireland | 1% | 5% | 3% |
| North West | 1% | 5% | 4% |
| West Midlands | 1% | 7% | 6% |
| East Midlands | 1% | 9% | 8% |
| South West | 3% | 20% | 17% |
| Eastern England | 16% | 50% | 34% |
| South East | 17% | 51% | 34% |
| London | 49% | 79% | 30% |
| England & NI | 21% | 42% | 21% |
Source: Zoopla analysis of buyer enquiries to estate agents
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, commented: “Stamp duty has become a big source of tax revenue, approaching £10bn a year for the government. The reduction in tax reliefs from April will see more home buyers paying stamp duty.
“Existing homeowners will pay up to £2,500 more for each purchase across a large number of sales. The average seller has made £60,000 in capital gains so there is flexibility to absorb this cost but buyers will expect to factor this extra cost into what they offer.
“It’s positive that most first-time buyers will still pay no stamp duty from April, but these changes hit those buying over £300,000 in southern England the most where buying costs are already high. This will reduce buying power and market activity at a local level.
“Stamp duty is a big tax on home movers in southern England where affordability problems are already a major challenge. The case for reforming stamp duty remains but the question is where to replace the multi-billion in annual tax revenues.”