HMRC publish annual stamp duty land tax statistics

HMRC have recently produced annual stamp duty statistics which make for interesting reading. It shows that stamp duty receipts decreased by 7% to £11,940 million in 2018/19. However, after discounting the effect of first-time buyers’ relief and devolution to Wales the fall would be around 3%. Properties valued at £250,000 or less, accounted for 59% of all transactions, and 11% of the total stamp duty receipts, whilst properties over £1 million accounted for nearly 3% of transactions and over 45% of total stamp duty receipts. There were 230,600 HRAD (higher rate for additional dwellings) transactions in 2018/19, a decrease of 9% (21,900) from 2017/18. Whilst HRAD receipts were £3,810 million in 2018/19, a decrease of 6% (£250 million) from 2017/18. Of this total, £1,675 million came from the additional 3% element which is a 12% decrease from 2017/18. Additional dwellings transactions accounted for 22% of residential transactions and 46% of residential receipts, an increase of 2% from last year, in 2018/19. The first-time buyer relief is thought to have influenced this change. There were 218,900 transactions that benefited from the first-time buyers’ relief in 2018/19, with an estimated £521 million relieved in total. 2018/19 was the first full tax year of first-time buyer relief claims. Despite still having the largest value for stamp duty receipts. London has also seen the steepest dip in the absolute value of stamp duty receipts over the last year (£315 million). Most of the other regions, excluding Yorkshire & Humber and the East Midlands, have also shown decline in stamp duty receipts although this decline has been much smaller. London was, however, the region with the highest proportion of transactions which were additional dwellings, with 28%. It is not really a surprise that stamp duty receipts have fallen, annual house price growth in the UK has slowed to the lowest pace in six years, according to the Halifax. The average price of a house was £232,574 in September, down 0.4% from in August – the first monthly fall since May. And prices rose 1.1% year on year, marking the smallest annual gain since April 2013.