Thank you for contacting me about Stamp Duty Land Tax.
I welcomed the temporary cut to Stamp Duty Land Tax for home buyers across England and Northern Ireland until the end of June 2021.
The Temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) cut has temporarily increased the Nil Rate Band of Residential SDLT, in England and Northern Ireland, from £125,000 to £500,000. This applied from 8 July 2020 until 30 June 2021 and cut the tax due for everyone who would have paid SDLT. As announced at the Budget, from 1 July 2021 until 30 September 2021, the nil rate band is £250,000 with the nil rate band returning to its standard amount of £125,000 from 1 October 2021.
According to the Treasury’s Plan for Jobs, nearly nine out of ten people getting on or moving up the property ladder will pay no SDLT at all as a result of this change.
This measure as a crucial intervention to ensure medium-term confidence in the property market and maintain the growing momentum since the easing of lockdown and I welcome that the end date was pushed back from 31 March to 30 June 2021.
I am confident that this action to support the housing market has protected and created jobs. In England and Wales, an estimated 240,000 people are directly employed by housebuilders and their contractors, and between 500,000 and 700,000 employees are indirectly supported in the supply chain. Moving to a new house also boosts the economy, with estimates suggesting that doing so drives additional spending worth about 5 per cent of the house's value.
Cut Off Date: I understand concerns regarding the backlog of transactions and the impact this could have on people whose purchases may have completed after 30 June and I will alert my ministerial colleagues to the strength of feeling on this matter.
Backdating: I am not aware of any plans to backdate this measure, and my understanding is that the timing of its implementation was subject to significant consideration. I understand this must be frustrating, so please be assured that Ministers are well aware of public concern.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Craig Whittaker MP
September 2021