Stamp Duty Scrapped

Great news for first-time buyers, Chancellor Alistair Darling has set the stage for the general election by suspending Stamp duty on house purchases under £250,000 for the next two years although we will see an increase on properties above £1m to 5%. Within his budget to “secure the recovery”, Mr Alistair Darling said: “The housing market is now stabilised and has begun a slow recovery`.

BUDGET 2010: STAMP DUTY PLANS

- First-time buyers:
- No stamp duty on purchases up to £250,000
- Buyer (or all buyers if joint purchase) must not have previously owned a property anywhere in the world
- Completion date must be on or after 25 March 2010 and before 25 March 2012
Property must be your only or main home
- Increase of stamp duty to 5% for properties over £1m