Homebuyers in England paid £1.3bn in stamp duty in April, a £102m drop from March but still the second highest monthly total this year, according to analysis from Coventry Building Society using HMRC data.
The figures cover the first month after the nil-rate threshold was halved from £250,000 to £125,000. While March saw a surge in transactions ahead of the change, April’s figures suggest that tax bills remain significant for many buyers. In total, buyers have paid £4.6bn in stamp duty so far in 2025.
Coventry’s analysis shows the average bill on a typical home purchase has risen from £2,282 to £4,782 due to the lower threshold. The current stamp duty bands are unchanged from 2014, when the average house price in England was £191,986. Since then, property prices have increased by more than 50%, dragging a larger share of buyers into higher tax bands.
Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “March saw a rush of buyers racing to complete before the threshold changes, yet in April buyers still paid a staggering amount in property tax. Some of this could be from a lag of payments, but it also shows how much buyers are being squeezed, which brings a worry of long-term strain on the market.
“When you’re juggling deposits, legal fees and moving costs, adding thousands of pounds in tax can push a move out of reach. It risks freezing people out of the market altogether – especially in higher priced areas where even modest homes now carry a hefty tax bill.
“For many, moving isn’t just about a new address – it’s tied to bigger life steps like starting a family, downsizing in retirement or getting closer to schools and support networks. When those plans get delayed, it doesn’t just affect individuals – it risks the whole market slowing down.”
January and February saw stamp duty receipts of £848m and £1.1bn respectively.
