Of that £16.8bn in receipts, £16.2bn was paid by homemovers, with the remainder charged on shares and the annual tax on enveloped properties.
Helen Morrisey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that while stamp duty receipts are up on last year, “the direction is turning”.
She added: “House price growth is stuttering to a halt and homes are taking longer to sell so we will likely see stamp duty receipts come off further in the coming months though mortgage rates have started to come down which could tempt some people into taking the plunge in the coming months.”
Time for reform
Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, noted that 2022 was a record breaking year for stamp duty, even when considering the higher thresholds for the tax introduced by the then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng back in the mini Budget.
Stinton noted that with transaction levels expected to fall this year, it’s likely that the amount spent on stamp duty will drop too, though he emphasised this does not mean that individual homebuyers are not being “hit hard” by the levy.
He continued: “The new thresholds reduced the tax bill on an average priced home in England from £5,767 to £3,303, which is certainly an improvement but still more than double the £1,566 it was in 2014 when the previous thresholds were set. It shows the thresholds simply haven’t moved in line with house price inflation.
Stinton suggested that a wider reform of stamp duty, such as including incentives for energy efficient home improvements, should be a long-term aim of the government.
A rise in IHT
The HMRC data also revealed a growth in receipts from inheritance tax.
Between April 2022 and January 2023, receipts hit £5.9bn, up by £900m on the same period a year before.
Alex Davies, CEO and founder of Wealth Club, said that the taxman was enjoying a growing take from inheritance tax largely because of years of significant house price growth, which has pushed increasing numbers of families over the tax threshold.
He said: “Thanks to years of frozen allowances, paired with house price growth and soaring inflation, families up and down the UK, most of which would not consider themselves to be especially affluent are also increasingly being affected.”
