One of the most exciting aspects of the year 2020 for property is the stamp duty holiday. If you are a seller or a buyer, now is the time to act to take advantage of this government incentive.
In short, the UK government has waived the stamp duty tax for buyers purchasing property under £500,000 where the property is the main home. That said, investors benefit too as the tax has halved for buy-to-let landlords. For a £500,000 home, if it is your first home, you would currently pay no stamp duty. If it’s your second home, you’d be saving too, at 3%. That works out to a £15,000 savings, which is quite a large benefit when normally your stamp duty would double that amount.
In order for you to take advantage of the stamp duty break you will need to complete the purchase by the 31st March 2021. If you work backwards then, you really need to have your offer accepted in the next few weeks if you are purchasing with a mortgage. For cash buyers there is a bit more time, perhaps offering you until February or so.
If you are interested in taking advantage of this break, or have any questions, feel free to reach out to a member of our team.
