Homebuyers paid an average Stamp Duty bill of £9,937 in 2023, according to analysis from Coventry Building Society.

This is a reduction from 2022, when the average Stamp Duty bill for residential homebuyers was £11,202.

While total HMRC receipts for Stamp Duty Land Tax reached £11.8bn last year, almost £9bn (£8.85bn) of that was taken from residential transactions.

Homebuyers currently pay Stamp Duty if their home costs most than £250,000. In March 2025 this will drop to £125,000 – meaning the tax bill on an average priced home in England will jump up by £2,500.

The latest HMRC figures also show there were 114,300 claims for First Time Buyer Relief, worth a total of £550 million, and on average £4,812 for someone buying their first home last year.

Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “Stamp Duty is an easy cash grab for the Treasury but a huge burden on homebuyers. Over the years, different Chancellors have dropped hints and sometimes tinkered around the edges, but it’s been obvious for a long time that this is a tax that needs to be properly reviewed and reformed. The March Budget is a great opportunity to make a real change to a tax that is paid by hundreds of thousands of homebuyers every year.

“Average Stamp Duty bills have almost doubled over the past ten years from £5,600 in 2013. But reducing this burden on homebuyers could still benefit the economy – and the Treasury’s coffers – as people could spend the extra cash on improving their new home, boosting the retail and services sectors and returning some tax revenue through VAT.

“The Relief for first time buyers is clearly very welcome to those getting their foot on the property ladder. But there should also be some consideration to other parts of the market that need more incentive or help to move. Downsizers is a logical group for the Treasury to be looking at in this respect, and we hope that when significant reform of Stamp Duty happens, it takes these homeowners into account.”