Our quick facts guide to the new Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief.
Before the Autumn budget of 2017, a first-time buyer of a property worth £300,000 would have paid £5,000 in SDLT.
Now, first-time buyers purchasing residential property in the UK, Wales and Northern Ireland will pay no SDLT on properties valued up to £300,000.
First-time buyers of properties priced between £300,001 and £500,000 will pay SDLT at a rate of 5% on the purchase price in excess of £300,000.
Purchasers of property over £500,000 will claim no SDLT relief.
To qualify for this relief, the first-time buyer should not have held any interest in a residential property in the UK or anywhere else in the world before and they must intend to occupy the property as their main residence.
The government has stated that the new relief will save 80% of first-time buyers from paying SDLT. These reforms accompany the government’s ambitious housing plans to build 300,000 new homes a year.