HMRC’s tax receipt data showed this was also lower than the £846m collected during the same month last year.
So far this year, stamp duty tax receipts totalled £1.6bn. From the start of the financial year April 2023 to February this year, £10.7bn has been paid in stamp duty land tax. This compares to an intake of £14.3bn from April 2022 to February 2023.
A year left to avoid stamp duty hike
According to an analysis from Coventry Building Society, homebuyers have just 12 months before the average stamp duty bill in England rises from £2,428 to £4,928.
This will be when the temporarily increased stamp duty threshold falls from its current level of £250,000 back to the standard £125,000 in March next year.
The threshold for first-time buyers will also drop from £425,000 to £300,000.
Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “In 12 months’ time, people buying a home over £250,000 will suddenly have to pay an extra £2,500 in tax. Many new buyers will have to dip into their deposit and borrow more just to cover the tax on their home.
“It’s a double hit, because this hike is not only going to add thousands of pounds to peoples’ tax bills next year, it’s also going to cost buyers thousands of pounds in extra interest over the life of their mortgage. Some buyers will still be paying for this tax hike decades down the line.”
He added: “The failure to make any meaningful changes to stamp duty in the Spring Budget was a blow to homebuyers when there was so much more that could have been done to make this tax better for everyone.
“The Chancellor ignored this opportunity when he could have really got creative and introduced waivers for downsizers, incentivised energy-efficient home improvements, or come up with fluid thresholds that move in line with inflation. Instead, no substantial changes were made and the clock is ticking for future homebuyers.”
IHT set for record intake
Receipts for Inheritance Tax (IHT) totalled £564m in February, up on the previous month’s £556m. This was also higher than the intake of £531m during the same month last year.
From April last year to February this year, a total of £6.8bn has been paid to IHT, £400m higher than the same period last year.
This is around £300m shy of the record £7.1bn collected last year. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast that the intake for 2023 to 2024 will total a high of £7.6bn.
