Homebuyers in the UK paid £6.6bn in Stamp Duty Land Tax during the first six months of the year, according to analysis by Coventry Building Society, marking a 21% increase on the £5.4bn paid during the same period in 2024.
The sharp rise follows the government’s decision to lower the nil-rate band threshold from £250,000 to £125,000 on 1 April. The change, which effectively added £2,500 to the Stamp Duty bill on the average UK home, has begun to feed through into HMRC’s monthly receipts.
In June alone, buyers paid £1.1bn – a 15% increase on the £918m raised in May.
It is now the third month in which the revised threshold has been in effect. Before April, only homes above £250,000 incurred Stamp Duty, a pandemic-era measure designed to stimulate the market. Its reversal has been felt most acutely in the lower and mid-value price bands, where the additional tax has compounded the already significant costs of moving home.
Last week, the government set out a fresh commitment to homeownership in its Mansion House speech, confirming that the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme will become permanent.
The scheme, which supports buyers with small deposits, was introduced in 2021 and had been due to expire this year. It will now continue alongside a raft of changes to affordability regulations, including amendments to loan-to-income limits and revised guidance on lender stress testing.
However, industry figures have questioned whether the measures go far enough in the face of growing tax liabilities.
“those higher tax costs
haven’t gone away”
Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “There’s been a flurry of new measures to support homebuyers recently – but they’ve landed just months after Stamp Duty bills jumped by thousands.
“While the new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and changes to affordability rules show real intent to boost homeownership, those higher tax costs haven’t gone away.
“With deposits, moving expenses, and legal fees already stretching people thin, adding a big tax bill on top can make moving feel out of reach. That kind of pressure doesn’t just affect first time buyers – it can slow the whole market down.
“If the government really wants to support people at every stage of the journey, reforming Stamp Duty should be next on the list.”
The government has so far resisted calls for wholesale reform of Stamp Duty, despite criticism that the tax acts as a drag on mobility in the housing market. While the previous Chancellor briefly abolished the duty for many buyers during the pandemic, it has since reverted to a structure that penalises moves in areas where prices have outstripped national averages.
