Data from HMRC revealed this was slightly higher than the £1.3bn generated by house sales during the same month last year.
Coventry Building Society suggested the decline in stamp duty intake in November was due to uncertainty among buyers and sellers over what would be announced in the Autumn Budget.
Since January, £13.7bn has been collected in stamp duty, a 19% rise on the £11.5bn paid over the same period last year.
Since the start of the financial year in April, £8.9bn has been collected in stamp duty, marginally less than the £9bn intake over the same period in 2024.
Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “Stamp duty has long been the hidden sting in the tail of buying a home. The months of speculation ahead of the Autumn Budget added a lot of uncertainty, with buyers and sellers unsure if they should press ahead or wait for potential changes that never came.
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“With no reforms announced, stamp duty now feels increasingly outdated and out of step with today’s housing market. We’re using thresholds [that] were introduced in 2014, but house prices have risen significantly since then. That disconnect means more buyers are being pulled into higher tax bands simply because the market has moved on.”
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) Economic and Fiscal Outlook shows tax on buying residential property in England and Northern Ireland would rise to £19.7bn by 2030-31.
Stinton added: “When people are dragged into paying more tax by default rather than design, it’s clear the system isn’t up to date. At the very least, there’s a growing case for the system to be revisited so it better reflects modern house prices.
“Without it, homebuyers will continue to be crippled by a tax [that] doesn’t make sense for today’s market.”
IHT set for record intake
The inheritance tax (IHT) bill for November was £588m, down from £811m in October.
Still, HMRC is on track to receive a record intake from IHT, as the receipts since April totalled £5.8bn, a 1% or £83m growth on last year.
Will Hale, CEO of Key Advice and Air, said: “These latest figures, alongside the confirmation in last month’s Budget that the IHT nil-rate band will remain frozen at its current level of £325,000 until April 2031, mean that the record-breaking £9bn-plus in IHT receipts expected in 2025/26 will continue to grow in the years ahead.
“Furthermore, with pensions being brought into the scope of IHT from April 2027, it is clear that efficient transfer of wealth through the generations is becoming ever more complex. This should be viewed as a great opportunity for advisers to demonstrate the value they deliver but planning strategies need to be reviewed in light of the changes to the tax environment.
“With over £3.7trn in property equity in the hands of the over-55s, it is crucial that the home forms part of the plan and that advice considers how products such as modern lifetime mortgages can form part of efficient intergenerational wealth planning.”
