Stamp responsibility receipts and transactions noticed a major rise in 2024–25, based on HMRC’s newest annual report.
The rise was pushed by larger surcharge charges, a surge in exercise forward of April 2025 SDLT threshold adjustments, and powerful efficiency in each residential and non-residential markets.
Whole stamp tax receipts rose 23% year-on-year, from £14.8bn in 2023–24 to £18.2bn, with SDLT accounting for £13.9bn, up 20% on the earlier 12 months.
Residential SDLT receipts elevated 21% to £10.4bn, supported by a 20% rise in residential transactions (up from 872,000 to 1,049,600), whereas non-residential receipts rose 15% to £3.5bn, with transactions rising 7% year-on-year to 112,400.
Quarterly information exhibits that after a sustained rise via 2024, each SDLT transactions and receipts dipped in Q1 2025.
Excessive property costs in southern England meant that this area generated the best receipts, led by London, which secured £5.14bn in 202425 (37% of the entire).
Whole SDLT transactions reached 1.162 million, up 19% year-on-year.
The East of England recorded the biggest rise in residential transactions, whereas the East Midlands noticed the most important improve in non-residential exercise.
Ian Futcher, monetary planner at Quilter, commented: “The most recent stamp responsibility figures present a market that has remained comparatively resilient by way of transaction numbers, however one the place the tax burden on consumers continues to develop. Residential SDLT receipts rose by 21% over the 12 months, regardless of home costs being broadly flat. Subsequently this isn’t a narrative of booming values however of a system that has grow to be more and more punitive, with larger surcharges and tighter reliefs pushing up the price of transferring.
“First-time consumers illustrate this stress most clearly. Claims for First Time Consumers’ Aid jumped by 37% as many rushed to finish earlier than the thresholds tightened in April, securing a mean tax saving of round £5,000. Nonetheless, mortgage charges have since fallen from the degrees seen in late 2024 and early 2025. For individuals who made a knee-jerk resolution to buy underneath the outdated guidelines, the upfront tax saving might now be overshadowed by the actual fact they locked into borrowing when charges have been materially larger. In some instances, the extra annual curiosity value may rapidly erode, and even exceed, the saving they secured, that means the timing of the acquisition might not in the end have delivered the profit they hoped for.
“The strain on landlords and second-home consumers has intensified too. Receipts from the upper charges on extra dwellings climbed by nearly a fifth after the surcharge elevated from 3% to five%, taking the entire to greater than £5.4 billion. For a lot of buyers, the tax panorama is now so onerous that the monetary rationale for buying a property has weakened significantly, contributing to sluggish turnover in elements of the nation.
“For anybody contemplating a transfer, these figures spotlight the significance of viewing stamp responsibility as a central a part of affordability moderately than an afterthought. With surcharges larger, reliefs tighter and mortgage charges nonetheless elevated by historic requirements, consumers want a transparent understanding of each the upfront tax prices and the longer-term mortgage implications earlier than committing.
The housing market has held up higher than some anticipated, however it has achieved so despite the tax setting, not due to it, and considerate planning has by no means been extra necessary.”
