Stamp Duty Land Tax - Threshold Raised For One Year

From 3rd September 2008, Stamp Duty Land Tax will not apply to purchases of residential property of £175,000 or less in an attempt to kick start the housing market.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that this change will provide exemption from stamp duty land tax for land transactions consisting entirely of residential property where the chargeable consideration is not more than £175,000. This relief will apply to transactions with an effective date on or after 3rd September 2008 and before 3rd September 2009.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) was introduced on 1st December 2003 to replace Stamp Duty. It is a tax on land transactions which requires the purchaser to submit a Land Transaction Return which records the effective date of the transaction, the purchase price and a calculation of the SDLT payable.

On sales, SDLT is charged on the whole price (inclusive of VAT where applicable) at the following rates: