Homebuyers paid £918m in Stamp Duty Land Tax in April, according to Coventry Building Society’s analysis of HMRC figures.

This represents a decrease of over half a billion compared to April 2022 – where homebuyers paid £1.5bn.

Homebuyers have paid a total of £3.6bn in Stamp Duty Land Tax from January – April this year, compared to £4.9bn in the same period last year. This is a 27% (£1.3bn) reduction in the space of 12 months.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook shows property taxes – including Stamp Duty, devolved property taxes, and the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings – is set to drop by an estimated £4.7bn this year. This is due to temporary changes in thresholds and a predicted lower number of property transactions.

Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “Homebuyers are collectively spending less on Stamp Duty than they did last year – but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still being hit hard by the tax.

“The new thresholds reduced the tax bill on an average priced home in England from £5,767 to £2,918, which is certainly an improvement but still almost double the £1,566 it was in 2014 when the previous thresholds were set. It shows the current thresholds simply aren’t doing enough to help homebuyers – and more concerningly for home movers, they’re still only temporary.”