Stamp duty, it has been all over the news recently and for many first time and new buyers it could stand to save them a lot of money. But, for many, phrases like stamp duty and land tax relief can seem confusing. Here at Cardwells we have been a residential estate agents Bolton for over 35 years and all those years within the property industry has allowed us to acquire a in depth knowledge, and we wanted to help shed a light for any of our prospective first time buyers!

Stamp Duty Land Tax Relief

Previous to this Autumn Budget, everyone (including first time buyers) had to pay stamp duty whenever they bought a new house, over the price of £125,000.

So for example, if you were to purchase a home for £200,000 you would be paying around an extra thousand pounds for stamp duty. However, thanks to the change in law, there will be no charge on houses up to the price of £300,000 for all first time buyers. For any first time buyers that are looking to purchases a house between £300,000 and £500,000, there will be a reduction in the amount of tax paid. For any first time purchases over half a million, there will be no change. The Government has said that they won’t reduce stamp duty on houses with that price, due to the fact they want to focus this on those who ‘need it most.’

For those first time buyers who live in London, stamp duty is set to be halved for all first time buyers.

Thanks to these changes, it has been estimated that at least 80% of first time buyers won’t pay stamp duty at all. And this change is meant to allow over a million first time buyers actually get onto the property ladder! To be eligible for the change, all you (and your partner if you are buying together) need to have never bought a residential property before, that’s it! You need to be literal first time buyer.

For those that are in the process of first time buying, don’t fret! As long as your relevant paper work didn’t go through before budget day aka the 22nd of November 2017, you should still be eligible for the relief.

Residential Estate Agents Bolton

We hope that this stamp duty relief will actually help to get a lot more first timers onto the property market. And we also know how much of a frighting prospect house hunting can be! That’s why all of the team here at Cardwells residential estate agents Bolton, are always available to speak to about any housing queries that you might have. We really would love to help as many first time buyers as possible, get their foot onto the property ladder!