At long last… George Osborne has said stamp duty will be cut for 98% of homebuyers in his Autumn Statement to the Commons.
The chancellor said that from midnight, the current system, where the amount owed jumps at each threshold level, would be replaced by a graduated rate, working in a similar way to income tax.
The changes taking place will mean that stamp duty rates only apply to the part of the property price that falls within each band. The calculation for the new stamp duty will be as follows:
- 0% paid for the first £125,000
- then 2% on the portion up to £250,000
- then 5% up to £925,000
- then 10% up to £1.5m
- and 12% on anything above that
This is great news for those purchasing now and in the near future. This will also be welcomed by many sellers particular if your property is worth in the region of £250,000.
A purchase price of £260,000 will see a saving of £4,800.
Changes are to come into effect at midnight on Thursday, 4 December.