RISHI Sunak has pledged to abolish stamp duty entirely for first-time buyers.
The Prime Minister made the announcement as he spoke at the launch of the Conservative manifesto.
Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is a lump sum payment you have to make when purchasing property over a certain threshold.
It applies in England and Northern Ireland, with separate property tax schemes running in Scotland and Wales.
You don't have to pay any stamp duty on a property valued up to £250,000, and £425,000 for first-time buyers.
I'm a property expert - my guess for the cheapest time to buy a home this year
The Conservatives introduced a further stamp duty cut for first-time buyers in 2022.
The cut means that wannabe homeowners buying houses over a certain amount won't have to pay tax on it.
This saw the threshold rise to from £300,000 to £425,000, but it was due to end on March 31, 2025.
And now, the Conservatives have pledged to keep this permanently.
The move could potentially save budding homeowners £1billion a year.
Rishi Sunak said: "In the last five years, we have delivered one million new homes.
“In the next five years, we will deliver 1.6million new homes by building on brownfield land and scrapping EU laws.
Mr Sunak’s manifesto includes pledges to
- PROTECT pensioners from ever paying income tax with a new Triple Lock Plus
- GIVE working parents 30 hours a week free childcare by September next year
- CREATE a mandatory new form of national service for 18-year-olds
- IMPOSE a ban on any new green levies that makes Brits pay for Net Zero
- BAN mobile phones in classrooms as well as clamping down on sex education
- BOOSTING defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030
- SLAP an annual cap on legal migration while pledging immediate Rwanda flights
- CUT stamp duty on houses for first time buyers up to £425,000
"We Conservatives believe in tax cuts, for young families and first-time buyers, up to £425,000, we will will abolish stamp duty entirely.
"We will set up a new help to buy scheme… so more people have the security and pride of owning your own home.
Inside Camilla's £850k 'guilty pleasure' country pad - and Charles 'hates' it
“From Macmillan to Thatcher, it is Conservatives that are the family of the property owning democracy in this country."
Exactly how much stamp duty you pay will also depend on the value of the property you're buying, as well as whether it is your first or second home.
Here we show you how to calculate your potential savings.
How much could I save on stamp duty?
How much you will save from the cut to stamp duty depends on how much the house costs - but it could be thousands of pounds.
Here's how much first-time buyers will save:
- £100,000 - no saving
- £200,000 - no saving
- £300,000 - no saving
- £400,000 - £5,000
- £500,000 - £6,250
First time buyers already paid no stamp duty on the first £300,000 of the price of a property.
This means looking at a property at this price or below will see no change.
But those looking to buy a property at £400,000 will now pay no stamp duty and will save £5,000.
First time buyers looking to purchase a home at £500,000 will now save £6,250.
How do I calculate how much I will save?
To calculate how much you could save, you need to compare how much stamp duty you would have paid under the old system compared to now.
The easiest way to do this is to use a calculator.
You can use the Money Advice Service tool to show how much you would normally pay, while this Gov.uk calculator has been updated to calculate the cost from September 23, 2022.
The difference between the two is your saving.
In other news, one digital marketer has revealed how she saved up enough for her first home.
Plus, the areas where house prices are falling the most.
