Stamp duty receipts in 2021 hit almost £13.2bn the highest ever for a calendar year, with over £1.7bn in December alone, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
According to HMRC, the previous record for stamp duty receipts for a calendar year was £13bn in 2017.
Against, 2020, total receipts were £8.6bn and in 2019 total stamp duty receipts totalled £11.7bn.
Stamp duty receipts in December came to £1.7bn, which is up 44 per cent on the prior month and more than a third higher than December 2019.
HMRC said that the strong December receipts can be attributed to “continued growth” in stamp duty transactions and a “normal surge” of property sales ahead of Christmas.
The report added that there had also been a large fall in transaction numbers in the first two weeks of January.
Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said 2021 was a “very lucrative year” for the Treasury despite the stamp duty holiday ending in September.
He said: “With receipts last year at their highest ever, the property market has clearly weathered the storm of the last couple of years.”
He added that he would expect to see a “more steady level of activity” in the coming year, with house prices remaining high and lack of housing stock meaning HMRC will bring a “healthy amount of revenue” from stamp duty.
Stinton said: “Of course, it’s not such good news for homebuyers; with general living costs on the rise, a stamp duty bill will be an unwelcome, and in some cases prohibitive, additional cost.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.