AN EXTRA 23% of first-time buyers (FTBs) have been exempt from paying stamp duty as a result of the Government raising the starting threshold from £125,000 to £250,000 over the past two years, according to estimates from Bank of Scotland.
The temporary increase in the threshold has meant that nearly all first-time buyers in Scotland (99%) over the period have not had to pay stamp duty.
An estimated 7,100 first-time buyers in Scotland have benefited from the increase in the threshold over the past two years with approximately 30,500 first-time buyers in total paying no stamp duty.
The return of stamp duty will hit one in four Scottish first time buyers
Returning the starting threshold to £125,000 will result in one in four first-time buyers paying stamp duty.
Around seven in ten first-time buyers in the South East of England and Greater London have benefited from the change, having to pay no stamp duty directly due to the raising of the threshold from £125,000 to £250,000.
The North of England and Northern Ireland have benefited the least with only one in six first-time buyers exempt from the tax as a result of the increase.
Only 4% of first-time buyers in Greater London will be exempt from stamp duty when the starting threshold returns to £125,000, compared to 76% in Scotland.
The proportions of first-time buyers paying stamp duty will be much lower in other parts of the country with less than one in five paying the tax in the North of England and Northern Ireland. Almost a quarter (24%) of first-time buyers in Scotland will pay stamp duty when the threshold is returned.
Nitesh Patel, Bank of Scotland housing economist, said: “The stamp duty holiday has directly helped nearly a quarter of first-time buyers in Scotland over the past two years. Across the UK, the impact has varied considerably with around seven in ten first-time buyers in London and the South East exempt from the tax as a direct result of the temporary change. Returning the threshold to £125,000 will hit have a significant impact on many Scottish first-time buyers.”
