Aisha Nasir of our Property team reports on the extended land tax holiday and the differences in England & Wales
You must pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England. If the property or land is situated in Wales, then since the 1st April 2018, purchasers become liable to pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT) instead.
There was good news for house buyers yesterday when the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the extension of the temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax relief and Welsh Government followed suit with an extension of the temporary relief on Land Transaction Tax .
Find the full details below-
Properties in England
On the 3rd March 2021, the Chancellor announced an extension to the temporary SDLT Relief, which was originally introduced on 8th July 2020.
Due to the period of reduced activity in the housing market following the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Chancellor announced a temporary increase to the amount that a purchaser could pay for residential property before SDLT became payable, from £125,000 to £500,000. This temporary measure was to be in place until 31st March 2021, however following the announcement on the 3rd March 2021, the date for the end of this relief, has been extended to the 30th June 2021.
Furthermore, from 30th June 2021 until the 30th September 2021, there will be a nil rate band of £250,000 meaning that on any residential property purchase of up to £250,000, there will be no SDLT payable. After the 30th September 2021, the SDLT rates shall revert to those applied prior to the 8th July 2020 with the starting threshold for tax reverting to £125,000.
See the Gov.uk page on SDLT Relief page for more details here
Properties in Wales
Further to the announcement by the Chancellor, the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd in Wales, Rebecca Evans MS also announced an extension to the LTT Relief which was introduced in July 2020. This temporary relief was also due to end on 31st March 2021, but has been extended to 30th June 2021 in Wales. From 1st July 2021 the LTT residential property transaction rates and thresholds will revert to those that applied prior to the July 2020 with the starting threshold for tax reverting to £180,000.
See the Welsh Gov Land Transaction Tax page here