Homebuyers have paid £9.3 billion in stamp duty between January and August, a 20.6% rise on the £7.7 billion collected during the same period last year, according to Coventry Building Society’s analysis of HMRC data.

In August alone, £1.3 billion was paid in stamp duty, down slightly from £1.4 billion in July – suggesting that receipts may have reached their annual peak. The fall coincided with growing speculation over potential reforms to the property tax system.

Reports first surfaced in mid-August that the government could use the Autumn Budget to scrap stamp duty altogether and replace it with a new levy on sellers of properties worth more than £500,000.

This week, further reports suggested that officials are also considering allowing buyers to pay stamp duty in instalments over several years rather than upfront at completion.

The Autumn Budget is scheduled for 26 November.

Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told her party conference that, if elected, the Tories would abolish stamp duty on home sales.

Jonathan Stinton, head of mortgage relations at Coventry Building Society, said: “Nobody wants to be the last one to pay the old tax. If people think they could save thousands under a new system, or even spread the cost over time, some may choose to hold off buying until there’s more clarity.”

He added that while shifting the burden from buyers to sellers, or allowing staggered payments, would represent a major shake-up, uncertainty could slow the market in the meantime. “Speculation can make the housing market hold its breath for a minute while people wait to see what happens,” he said.

Stinton warned that any reform would need to be carefully designed to avoid distorting behaviour. “Passing the tax to sellers could make people at the top of the chain think twice about moving, while staggered repayments could affect how much people can borrow.

“Reform has to strike the right balance so that it supports buyers, keeps sellers in the market, and helps the housing market keep moving.”