There were also 20% more transactions year-on-year, at 1.05 million, HMRC figures showed.
The estimated amount of stamp duty relieved by first-time buyers increased 44% from £540m to £779m for the most recent financial year versus the preceding financial year.
The higher rate on additional dwellings (HRAD) surcharge increased from 3% to 5%, resulting in higher overall receipts from HRAD transactions. HMRC said a larger share of all stamp duty receipts came from these transactions.
HRAD receipts paying the surcharge rose 35% from £1.7bn in 2023-24 to £2.9bn in 2024-25.
Stamp duty receipts and transactions fall over the quarter
Overall, HMRC said the total number of stamp duty transactions and receipts in Q1, including residential and non-residential property purchases, both broke trends of continuously rising levels, with declines on the previous quarter.
Residential property transactions fell marginally by 1% to 283,400 quarter-to-quarter, but were 47% up on the year before. HMRC attributed this to the rush of sales ahead of the stamp duty threshold change, which came into effect on 1 April.
Stamp duty receipts from residential transactions in Q1 2025 were 14% down on Q4 2024, but 49% up on the year before at £2.6bn.
Residential property sales made up 92% of all stamp duty transactions in Q1, an increase of two percentage points on the last quarter and a three percentage point rise on the year before.
In Q1, 56% of residential transactions were liable for the tax, compared to 53% in Q1 last year. There was a 3% quarterly uplift in the number of liable residential transactions totalling 158,000, and compared to a year earlier, this was 56% higher.
Some 19% of liable transactions were valued at under £250,000, and there was a 17% increase in transactions in this band when comparing Q1 this year to the same period in 2024.
Liable transactions valued between £250,000 and £500,000 rose by 67% to 80,100, while sales over £500,000 increased 73% to 47,800.
There was a 4% fall in non-liable residential transactions to 125,300 when comparing Q1 2025 to Q4 2024, while compared to a year earlier, this was 38% up.
Some 46,100 first-time buyers claimed stamp duty relief in Q1, an 84% rise on the year before and 11% higher than the previous quarter. HMRC said this was likely due to transactions being brought forward before the stamp duty change.
A total of £243m was relieved by first-time buyers, 20% higher than the last three months of 2024 and 104% up on the same period last year.
In Q1, first-time buyer relief was claimed on 16% of all residential transactions, a one percentage point rise on the prior quarter.
Stamp duty intake on additional dwellings comes to £693m
Some 53,800 transactions were liable to HRAD in Q1, with the surcharge element generating £693m in receipts. This was 1% lower than in Q4 2024 and 101% up on the year before.
The share of residential receipts coming from HRAD transactions fell by three percentage points from 50% in Q4 last year to 47% in Q1 this year, valued at £1.2bn. Annually, this represented a 1% rise.
Some 6,900 refunds were made, totalling £136m.
The number of transactions liable to HRAD rose by 23% yearly to 53,800 in Q1. When compared to the previous quarter, this had fallen by 6%.
HRAD transactions accounted for 34% of all liable residential transactions. Some 54% of transactions were under the £250,000 band, rising by 18% quarter-on-quarter to 29,000.
The 2% surcharge on residential property purchases by non-residents was applied to 4,500 transactions in Q1, 13% fewer than the previous quarter, which saw 5,200 transactions. Compared to the year before, this was 5% higher.
Since this was introduced in 2021, non-resident stamp duty land tax has generated £783m through 77,800 transactions.
