The Chancellor today announced in his Budget that the Stamp Duty holiday that has been due to come to an end on the 31 March, will now be extended for three months, to finish on the 30 June.
Rebecca Swain, Head of Conveyancing gives her view:
“This announcement means that there will be no Stamp Duty due on the first £500,000 of any property transaction, giving a potential saving of £15,000 for an additional 3 months.
“In addition, to smooth the cliff edge of the 30 June deadline, there will be a further three month holiday of 0% Stamp Duty on the first £250,000 of property transactions from 1 July until 30 September.
“The industry has seen many people facing the risk of missing out on the Stamp Duty holiday. Due to the tax saving benefits, the market has seen a large increase in the number of transactions.
“This, combined with restrictions in working practices due to the pandemic has meant there are backlogs in completing transactions. The Chancellor has looked to resolve this by extending the holiday.
“It is fair to say that the Stamp Duty holiday has been very important to the market. Transactions were fairly buoyant before the holiday was announced last July, but since then there has been a marked increase, with activity far in excess of previous years.
“We welcome the extension as it removes the immediate pressure of the 31st March deadline and are particularly pleased to see a tapering of relief so there is not a complete cliff edge on 30th June.
“We now anticipate transaction levels will remain high for the next six months, so those considering selling or buying should not delay.”
