First Time Buyer Stamp Duty

In England & Northern Ireland first time buyer relief is available for house purchases up to £625,000.

Stamp Duty for first time buyers

A permanent change to the initial stamp duty threshold for first time buyers means that anyone buying their first home won't be liable for stamp duty if the purchase price is below £425,000.

Further relief is available for purchases up to £625,000 to help first time buyers in more expensive locations such as London.

Impact of the changes

With the introduction of first time buyer relief the Government aims to help the majority of first time buyers in England and Northern Ireland by significantly reducing the costs associated with buying a home.

The new relief applies to anyone purchasing their first home since November 22nd 2017.

How does it work?

First time buyers will need to declare that they have never owned a property either in the UK or abroad. A special first time buyer code will need to be submitted with the stamp duty return once a home is purchased.

Full Stamp Duty relief is available up to £425,000, with reduced liability up to £625,000. Any purchases above £625,000 will attract normal stamp duty rates on the whole purchase price.

Joint purchasers

If a property is being purchased by more than one individual then all parties will need to be first time buyers to qualify for the relief.

Wales and Scotland

The Scottish Governement have introduced first time buyer relief from June 2018. The initial LBTT rate for first time buyers has increased to £175k and purchases above £175k also benefit from the relief on the portion below this threshold.

In Wales stamp duty has been replaced by Land Transaction Tax (LTT). First time buyer relief is not currently available under the new LTT system but the higher zero tax threshold of £180k should capture most first time purchases.