Stamp duty increase for landlords and multiple homeowners

In the Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced a substantial increase in Stamp Duty on the purchase of additional residential properties. That will therefore apply to situations such as purchase of a property to let out or of a second home. From April 2016 any such properties will face an additional 3% charge, on top of the existing levy.

This means the new stamp duty structure in England and Wales will look like this:

Property ValueStandard RateAdditional Properties £0-£125,000 0% 3% £125,001-£250,000 2% 5% £250,001-£925,000 5% 8% £925,001-£1.5m 10% 13% Above £1.5m 12% 15%

Stamp duty is applied only to the portion of the property value falling in that band, similar to income tax.

So while a sole home valued at £300,000 would incur £5,000 stamp duty, if that same £300,000 were an additional Buy to Let property for example, the stamp duty charge would increase to £14,000.