Budget 2010: Stamp Duty Threshold raised | Equity Finance

Tuesday 6th April 2010

by Shaun Vickery, Mortgage Advisor and Director of Equity Finance

The government have announced that they have suspended stamp duty on properties bought by first time buyers up to the value of £250,000. The change comes into effect for all purchase completions from the 25th March 2010 until 25th March 2012.

Following the announcement there was initial confusion as to who would qualify. This has now been clarified and in order to qualify for the suspended stamp duty the following must apply:-

• The purchase – or all purchasers if buying jointly – must be your first home.
• You cannot have previously owned another property anywhere in the world.
• You must be buying somewhere that will be your only or main home.>
• The completion date must be between 25 March 2010 and 25 March 2012

It is hoped that the increase of the stamp duty threshold will mean more first time buyers continue to look to buy properties, and that this will help revive the housing market.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders the number of first time buyers who would have been exempt from Stamp Duty had the suspension been in place last year would have equated to 92%, so therefore based on these figures a vast majority of first time buyers will benefit.

The suspension of the stamp duty threshold up to £250,000 will be recovered by an increase to stamp duty to 5% for all properties bought for over £1,000,000.

If you are a first-time-buyer looking for a mortgage, contact one of my team on (01244) 659000.

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