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Stamp duty is AXED for 200,000 home-buyers in Tory manifesto – check to see if you will qualify
Almost all first-time buyers will benefit from the plan
RISHI Sunak has pledged to effectively abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers in the Conservative manifesto – with up to 200,000 Brits set to benefit.
Renters looking to take the first step onto the property ladder will dodge paying the property tax on homes bought for under £425,000 with current relief measures made permanent.
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The PM made the announcement as he spoke at the launch of the Conservative manifesto this morning.
Stamp duty is currently paid on homes worth more than £250,000 with the rate ranging from five per cent to 12 per cent of the price depending on the value of the property.
Mr Sunak’s manifesto includes pledges to
- CUT National Insurance by a further 2p by 2027, taking the main rate to 6 per cent
- ABOLISH National Insurance entirely for self-employed workers by 2029
- PROTECT pensioners from ever paying income tax with a new Triple Lock Plus
- GIVE working parents 30 hours a week free childcare by September next year
- CREATE a mandatory new form of national service for 18-year-olds
- IMPOSE a ban on any new green levies that makes Brits pay for Net Zero
- BAN mobile phones in classrooms as well as clamping down on sex education
- BOOSTING defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030
- SLAP an annual cap on legal migration while pledging immediate Rwanda flights
- CUT stamp duty on houses for first time buyers up to £425,000
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The special threshold for first-time buyers was temporarily raised from £300,000 to £425,000 by Liz Truss in the September 2022 mini-budget but the measure had been due to expire next March.
But the PM today pledged to keep the raised threshold for good – potentially saving Brits £1billion a year – if the Tories are elected on July 4.
He said: “In the last five years, we have delivered one million new homes.
“In the next five years, we will deliver 1.6million new homes by building on brownfield land and scrapping EU laws.
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“We Conservatives believe in tax cuts, for young families and first-time buyers, up to £425,000, we will will abolish stamp duty entirely.
“We will set up a new help to buy scheme… so more people have the security and pride of owning your own home.
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Harry Cole reacts to the Conservative election manifesto
“From Macmillan to Thatcher, it is Conservatives that are the family of the property owning democracy in this country.”
The tax cut is another move in a bid by the PM to inject life into the Tory campaign and win over younger swing voters in key constituencies.
Mr Sunak will also pledge to bring back a "new and improved" version of the Help to Buy scheme, which ended in England last year.
He added landlords would also not have to pay tax on profits when selling to tenants, to give renters "a chance to own the home they live in".
With the average price of a first home at around £300,000, the measure will effectively end the tax for young professionals purchasing their first property.
Each pound from the next £500,000 above £425,000 will still be taxed at five per cent.
How much could you save?
How much you will save from the cut to stamp duty depends on how much the house costs - but it could be thousands of pounds.
Here's how much first-time buyers will save:
£100,000 - no saving
£200,000 - no saving
£300,000 - no saving
£400,000 - £5,000
£500,000 - £6,250
First-time buyers already paid no stamp duty on the first £300,000 of the price of a property.
This means looking at a property at this price or below will see no change.
But those looking to buy a property at £400,000 will now pay no stamp duty and will save £5,000.
First-time buyers looking to purchase a home at £500,000 will now save £6,250.
Here's how much homeowners looking to buy a new property will save:
£100,000 - no saving
£200,000 - £1,500
£300,000 - £2,500
£400,000 - £2,500
£500,000 - £2,500
Homeowners looking to buy a second home are also set to benefit.
The government doubled the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 for all home purchases.
This means someone looking to buy a property at this price will now pay no stamp duty, saving £1,500.
Someone looking to buy a property priced between £300,000 and £500,000 will save £2,500.
ANALYSIS: Rishi pulls a rabbit out of the hat - but will it be enough?
By RYAN SABEY, Deputy Political Editor
Rishi Sunak managed to pull one rabbit out of the hat and it will be to the delight of the self-employed to create a nation of enterprise.
The move will double down on his key message of being on the side of working people - insisting it's not right to tax workers twice.
He also launched a blistering attack on Sir Keir Starmer labelling him a socialist - saying he will keep more of the public's money.
The PM even invoked a famous line from the Brad Pitt film Fight Club.
He said: "The first rule of Labour’s tax rises is that you don’t talk about tax rises.”
There was a lot of time spent on Tory forecasts that Labour would hike taxes up by £2,094 for households - saying if you're not sure about Labour's plans "don't vote for it".
He also revealed that he wouldn't put "security and family finances" at risk in the face of eco-zealotry.
There was help for first-time buyers and pensioners as he attempted to win back support from across the ages.
Proposals are also in place to halve migration and then halve it every single year on top of a "regular rhythm" of deportation flights to Rwanda.
The seats he has been visiting during this election campaign show a defensive approach to winnable seats.
I visited Horsham in West Sussex on Monday with the PM which has a 21,000 majority. It's incredible that the Tories are campaigning in such safe seats.
Will this move the dial? He can only hope that he can begin to claw back some support in the face of an all-out assault by Labour, Reform and the Lib Dems.
Speaking in last week’s BBC election debate, Conservative candidate Penny Mordaunt appeared to tease the move, saying: "The way to keep the recovery going is to give you more money in your pockets.
"That is why this election must be about us cutting your taxes."
She added that the Tories "have already started doing that and you've already heard some announcements".
She added: "You'll see more in our manifesto next week.
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Heated leaders' debate as Sunak says Labour will tax everyone £2,000
“We have got to cut people's taxes and we have got to alleviate burdens on business."
David Phillips, an associate director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, previously called for the abolition of stamp duty.
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He said: “It is one of the most economically damaging taxes levied by the government, significantly increasing the cost of moving up both the housing and labour market.
"It should not be increased - rather it should be reduced or, ideally, abolished."
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