Stamp Duty Rates UK

Homeowners pay

0% stamp duty on houses upto the value of £125,000

1% on homes priced between £125,000 and £250,000

3% for homes between £250,000 and £500,000

4% for homes valued at more than £500,000

However, the average first time buyer is still paying a lot more stamp duty because of rising house prices. It is estimated that the average first time buyer pays over £1,670 extra duty since 1997, when Labour came to power.

The number of houses valued at £250,000 or more has tripled over the past three years from 1.8million to 5.5 million in 2007. Therefore, many people are having to pay the extra costs of stamp duty, in addition to the extra mortgage costs.

Furthermore, house buyers are also faced with the cost of HIPS, which has been criticised for adding red tape and unnecessary costs to buying a house.