Homebuyers paid £899m in stamp duty in January, according the latest HMRC statistics, up 6% from the £848m paid in January last year.
January is typically a quieter month for home purchases, as many buyers avoid completing over the festive period. With fewer transactions, stamp duty receipts normally dip at the start of the year - but this January still saw buyers hand over a notable sum.
Last year, homebuyers paid £15.4bn – an 18% rise from the £13bn paid in 2024. The increase is largely due to the nil-rate thresholds falling from £250,000 back to £125,000 last April.
The £125,000 threshold was initially introduced in December 2014, when the average UK property price was £176,561. According to the latest UK House Price Index, the average price is now £270,259 - an increase of more than £93,000. It means many homes that sat comfortably below tax bands a decade ago now incur a charge simply because prices have climbed.
Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “Stamp duty is one of those costs that really hits home because buyers have to find the money upfront - on top of their deposit and moving costs. While January is usually a quieter month for completions, it’s striking that buyers still handed over such a significant sum to the Treasury.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen how changes to the nil-rate threshold have pushed more ordinary home purchases into paying tax. The £125,000 starting point might have made sense back in 2014, but house prices have moved on dramatically since then. As a result many buyers are now paying stamp duty simply because property values have risen, not because they’re buying larger homes.
“If stamp duty has any chance of being considered fair and proportionate, it has to reflect today’s market. We have seen the government make sudden changes in direction on policies and this would be a welcome one. An urgent refresh of the thresholds would bring the system back in line with reality and take some of the pressure off people trying to move.”
