Rising stamp duty receipts show levy needs ‘urgent refresh’

Rising stamp duty receipts have intensified claims that the tax is no longer fair or proportionate and requires urgent reform.

Homebuyers paid £899m in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in January, according to Coventry Building Society’s analysis of the latest HMRC data – a 6% increase on the £848m collected in the corresponding month a year earlier.

Across the full year, stamp duty receipts totalled £15.4bn, up 18% from £13bn in 2024. The society attributed much of the increase to the reduction in the nil-rate band from £250,000 to £125,000 in April, which brought more property transactions within the scope of the tax.

The £125,000 threshold was introduced in December 2014, when the average UK property price stood at £176,561. By December 2025, the latest UK House Price Index recorded a typical price of £270,259 – an increase of more than £93,000.

As a result, properties that would previously have fallen below the tax threshold are now subject to SDLT, largely due to house price growth.

Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “Stamp duty is one of those costs that really hits home because buyers have to find the money upfront – on top of their deposit and moving costs.

“While January is usually a quieter month for completions, it’s striking that buyers still handed over such a significant sum to the Treasury.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen how changes to the nil-rate threshold have pushed more ordinary home purchases into paying tax. The £125,000 starting point might have made sense back in 2014, but house prices have moved on dramatically since then. As a result many buyers are now paying stamp duty simply because property values have risen, not because they’re buying larger homes.

“If stamp duty has any chance of being considered fair and proportionate, it has to reflect today’s market. We have seen the government make sudden changes in direction on policies and this would be a welcome one. An urgent refresh of the thresholds would bring the system back in line with reality and take some of the pressure off people trying to move.”