No stamp duty on house sales under £250,000 in Wales until April 2021
BREAKING NEWS: People buying their main homes in Wales costing less than £250,000 will not pay ANY tax under temporary measures. It follows England's decision to bring in a stamp duty holiday for all homes less than £500,000.
Property market update 14th July.
People buying their main homes in Wales costing less than £250,000 will not pay any tax (LTT Land Transaction Tax - Formally known as Stamp Duty) under temporary measures announced by the Finance Minister today (14th July 2020)
The Welsh Government has announced a holiday on the tax paid on house sales for homes worth less than £250,000 until March 31, 2021.
It follows England's decision to bring in a Stamp Duty holiday for all homes worth less than £500,000.
The threshold for the Land Transaction Tax, which replaced Stamp Duty in Wales in 2018, was previously set at £180,000.
The announcement is to attempt to get the property market moving in Wales following the coronavirus crisis. The hope is that the move will not only boost the property market but the wider economy through driving demand for renovations, bathrooms, kitchens and other furnishings.
This tax reduction will not apply to purchases on additional properties including buy to let and second homes.
The Finance Minister, Rebecca Evans, MS, also confirmed that the savings made by adopting these temporary rates in Wales will release £30m in new funding to support the construction of new, energy efficient social housing in Wales.
Rebecca Evans said: “This tax holiday will help first time buyers as well as those selling to move on, but we are taking a different direction to support jobs and house building in Wales.
“While eliminating taxes for those that need extra help, the tax holiday rate also reduces the tax paid on more expensive properties to help the wider housing market,
“Under these changes more than three quarters of homebuyers will pay no tax at all, an increase of 20% under our current measures.
“By setting these rates for Wales I am also able to confirm £30m to support the construction of new social housing and the much needed jobs they can deliver.”
This is a significantly lower threshold compared to what was announced in England when Chancellor Rishi Sunak removed Stamp Duty for all homes under £500,000.
As house values in Wales are lower than in England, the Welsh public purse would have been hit harder by a similar holiday here as a higher proportion of property sales fall under the £500k threshold.
Rebecca Evans said that in Wales the new threshold will not apply to the purchase of additional properties such as buy to lets or second homes in an attempt to help those most in need.
The measures will come in on July the 27 to correspond with the full reopening of the housing market.
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