On the 30th October 2024 Labour announced its new budget, but how has this affected the property market?
Stamp Duty
Residential
Standard residential purchases are changing from 1 April 2025. Here are the new rules.
- Previously, SDLT (Stamp Duty Land Tax) was charged on properties from £250k upwards. This threshold will change to, £125k upwards.
- Previously, first time buyers paid stamp duty on properties over £425k and upwards. This threshold will change to £300k. Any first-time purchase above this figure, will be charged at 5% up to £925k.
| Price of property | Stamp duty (from 1 April 2025) |
| Up to £125,000 | Zero |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% |
| Anything above £1.5 million | 12% |
For Secondary Homes / Landlords / Investors
If the property is not your primary residence, it’s classed as a second home and is therefore subject to a higher rate of stamp duty.
- Previously stamp duty was set at 3% of the entire property value, however this changed immediately (31.10.24) to 5%, which means some properties with agreed sales will end up accruing more in stamp duty.
- Non UK residents will also pay an additional 2% on top of the 5% (7%) in stamp duty.
| Price of property | Stamp duty (from 1 April 2025) |
| £0 to £250,000 | 5% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1,500,00 | 15% |
| Over £1.5 million | 17% |
If you have any questions about this, then please contact our team on: 01706 489 140.
Capital Gains Tax
You pay capital gains tax on the profit you make, when you sell something for more than you paid for it.
Most of the time, if you sell your main home, you don’t need to pay capital gains tax because of private residence relief.
However, if you are selling a rental property or a second home, you usually have to pay capital gains tax.
Starting from October 30, 2024, the main capital gains tax rates will increase from 10% to 18% for basic rate taxpayers and from 20% to 24% for higher rate taxpayers.
These rates will now match the existing rates for residential property sales.
Every taxpayer has a yearly capital gains tax (CGT) allowance, which lets you make a certain amount of profit tax-free. You only pay CGT on profits that go over this allowance.
For the 2024-2025 tax year, the allowance is £3,000. Couples who share ownership of assets can combine their allowances, allowing up to £6,000 of tax-free gains in that tax year.
You cannot carry any unused CGT allowance into the next tax year. If you don’t use it, you lose it.
* If you have any questions about Capital Gains Tax, please speak to a Financial Advisor.
For Businesses
Starting in April 2025, the rate of employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) will rise from 13.8% to 15%. Additionally, the threshold at which employer NICs become payable will be reduced from £9,100 to £5,000.
To help offset these higher costs for smaller employers, the employment allowance—available to businesses with annual NICs bills under £100,000 will increase from £5,000 to £10,500 per year. Furthermore, the £100,000 threshold will be removed, allowing all businesses to benefit from this allowance.
This change in employer NICs is expected to generate an additional £25 billion per year.
