Findings published by Halifax revealed a higher number of residential property transactions and increased prices lifted Stamp Duty revenues from £6.45bn in 2013/2014 to £8bn in 2014/2015.
Current Stamp Duty revenues are now 15 times as much as the £520m raised by residential Stamp Duty 20 years ago in 1994/95.
Under the new progressive structure of Stamp Duty introduced on 4 December 2014, no tax is paid on any of the value of a property below the starting threshold of £125,000. Above the first threshold, tax is charged at the relevant rate on the amount by which the selling price exceeds the threshold. This is continued through the various thresholds to the top rate.
Based on the current average house price in England and Wales of £259,708, a typical homebuyer pays a total of £2,985 in Stamp Duty. Under the previous structure, a buyer paying this price would have been subject to Stamp Duty payments of £7,791 – a saving of £4,806.
In cash terms, the largest savings made by homebuyers under the new structure are in London (£4,830) and the South East (£3,843).
Three-quarters of homebuyers are now liable to pay Stamp Duty tax, accounting for nearly all sales in London and around half in the north of England and Wales.
First-time buyers gained from the changes, with two in five of all purchases made by this group below the £125,000 threshold at which Stamp Duty becomes payable during the three months from December 2014 to February 2015.
However, no sales to first-timer buyers in London were made during this period on homes below £125,000, in contrast to three-quarters of to Northern Ireland (74%) and the North of England (73%).
