Stamp Duty for first-timers

Stamp Duty is a tax paid on all land and property and any shares you may own. The amount of Stamp Duty Tax you will pay depends on the value of the land, property or shares involved.

At present Stamp Duty is applicable on all houses over the value of £125,000. More people have found themselves having to pay this tax, as house prices have escalated over the past few years and many properties are way over this threshold.

The lowest Stamp Duty tax is on properties worth £125,000 - £250,000 and is banded at 1%. Houses over this amount fall into the 3-4% tax band. There has been a call to have the threshold level changed, as many houses are now over this value, especially considering the average house price in the UK is over £190,000.

The current hoo-haa, has been over the average cost of stamp duty tax for first-time buyers which has increased by about 82%. In 2002 first-time buyers would have to cough up £960 for Stamp Duty, but last year that price had jumped to an average cost of £1,750.

The raising of the threshold has not followed the rapid increase in house price rises and there is call now to get this in place. The Treasury report that despite this increase in average stamp duty bills, about half of all homebuying first timers, only half end up having to actually pay this bill.

Read more about Stamp Duty tax at the HM Revenue & Customs website www.hmrc.gov.uk