Stamp duty holiday: Sunak confirms three-month property tax break extension
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has this afternoon confirmed that the government will extend the stamp duty holiday for a further three months.
Speaking in the House of Commons today as he announced the latest budget, Sunak said the holiday will be extended in full until 30 June, with a tapered end until the end of September.
The holiday was first introduced last year to reignite the UK housing market following months of closure during the first coronavirus lockdown.
In July the government raised the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £500,000, helping to boost market activity and sending house prices rocketing.
But the pandemic has also slowed the sales process and forced some buyers to wait months for the transaction to complete.
In recent months property experts had warned that many home buyers would be unable to complete their deals before the 31 March deadline due to a backlog.
The new £500,000 nil rate band will end on 30 June, before it is reduced to £250,000 until the end of September.