The Budget back in March was light on pre-election sweeteners but the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) threshold on residential properties was doubled from £60,000 to £120,000. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that this will reduce the proportion of first time buyers liable to SDLT from 83% to 48%, still much higher than the 22% who paid back in 1997.
Above £120,000, SDLT is still applied to the full purchase price at rates of 1%, 3% and 4% a regime which many consider to be unfair. The purchaser of a £250,000 property will continue to incur a charge of £2,500 whilst the buyer paying £260,000 faces a charge of £7,800.
The SDLT threshold for commercial properties remains at £150,000. However the exemption for commercial properties in designated ‘disadvantaged areas’ has been withdrawn with effect from 17 March 2005, rather earlier than expected.