Stamp Duty Move 'Brought £4,500 Saving'

Buyers of properties in the last 12 months are typically £4,500 better off due to the stamp duty changes of a year ago, according to the Halifax.

The change was beneficial for most buyers but dampened the top end of the property market. According to the Halifax, the total tax levied in the UK rose to a record £7.5bn in 2014 to 15.

"The changes made to stamp duty a year ago have been of significant benefit to many buyers," said Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at the Halifax.

"Only those purchasing the most expensive homes are worse off. There is some evidence that the top end of the market has been adversely affected by the changes, with sales over £1.5m falling by twice as much as the market as a whole."

People who buy homes worth more than £938,000 pay more in stamp duty than they would have done under the old rules.

The Halifax found that 72% of the stamp duty revenue raised was from property purchases in London, the East of England and the South East of England. Only 1% of properties in London were bought for less than £125,000 in 2014 to 15, meaning no stamp duty was levied in these cases. In contrast, 45% of homes in the North East of England were bought for amounts below the threshold for paying stamp duty in 2014 to 15.

Scotland has had its own system, known as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, since April.

In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced a further reform of stamp duty. A 3% surcharge on stamp duty when some buy-to-let properties and second homes are bought will be levied from April. This means it will add £5,520 of tax to be paid when buying the average £184,000 buy-to-let property.