Homebuyers paid £10.8bn in Stamp Duty between January and September this year, according to Coventry Building Society’s analysis of the latest HMRC statistics.
That’s a 22% increase on the £8.8bn paid over the same period last year.
In September, homebuyers paid £1.5bn, compared to £1.3bn in August, an increase despite concerns from sellers and buyers that significant changes to property taxation are imminent.
Speculation about a major shake-up to property tax was first reported on 18th August, with suggestions that Stamp Duty could be scrapped in the Autumn Budget and replaced with a new property tax for sellers on homes worth more than £500,000.
Jonathan Stinton, head of mortgage relations at Coventry Building Society, said: “Buyers and sellers are being left in tax purgatory by the Treasury’s refusal to confirm or deny rumours of changes to Stamp Duty.
“Although the September receipts are for property purchases made after the speculation on property tax was already out there, it’s highly unlikely many buyers would have pulled the plug at such a late stage.
“But transactions could start to dwindle as some buyers choose to hold fire, and we may start to see tax receipts start to lose momentum as a result.”
He added: “Any reform to property tax needs to be well considered and well communicated.
“Buying a home is likely to be the most expensive purchase anyone can make, so it’s normal for people to want to understand the tax implications of waiting a few weeks if the difference could be thousands of pounds.”
