Scotland and Wales raise stamp duty thresholds

Scotland's equivalent to stamp duty, the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, is rising from £145,000 to £250,000 until the 31st March 2021.

The Welsh government has announced that its Land Transaction Tax threshold will increase from £180,000 to £250,000 until 31st March 2021.

Sean Randall, tax partner at Blick Rothenberg, said: “All house buyers in the UK will now benefit from a stamp duty holiday, designed to inject confidence in the housing market. Buyers in England and Northern Ireland already enjoy a stamp duty break on purchases up to £500,000, worth up to £15,000 per property.

"Although the Welsh and Scottish thresholds are only half the threshold in the rest of the UK, this reflects much lower average house prices in these regions. In both regions, the holiday is expected to mean that stamp duty is not payable on 80% of residential property transactions.

Much has been said about the stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland, including the fact that it applies to all purchasers: home-buyers and investors/developers/traders. Home-buyers in England and Northern Ireland may feel aggrieved that the tax break gives an edge to landlords, pushing up house prices. This likely to be the case too for home-buyers in Scotland; though, the draft legislation has not been published yet. But home-buyers in Wales will have some protection. A major distinction with the Welsh stamp duty holiday is that it does not apply to purchases of “additional” dwellings by individuals and purchases of dwellings by companies. Presumably, this is also intended to prevent buyers of second-homes in Wales from enjoying the holiday.”