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.
How to get your first-time buyer clients mortgage ready
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
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.
