Figures released by HMRC reveal over £1.4 billion in stamp duty was collected in July, up from just under £1.1 billion in June. The latest figures take the total for 2025 to slightly over £8 billion, compared to just over £6.6 billion for the same period in 2024.
An analysis of the data by Coventry Building Society has found that an averagely priced home in every region of the UK is now liable for the tax.
The average home in the North East is now subject to stamp duty of £773, while buyers in Yorkshire and the Humber can expect to pay around £1,588. That rises to £1,741 in the North West, £2,272 in East Midlands and £2,438 in West Midlands. Before the nil-rate threshold was halved in April, averagely priced homes in all areas would have been exempt from the tax.
‘The fact that there’s now nowhere to hide from stamp duty shows just how out of step this tax has become’ said Coventry Building Society head of intermediary relationships Jonathan Stinton.
“From London to the North East, those buying a typical home in any region are now being hit with a tax that can add thousands to the cost of moving.”
Figures released by Rightmove this week in response to the rumoured new property tax on homes worth at least £500,000 found a steep north/south divide in the number of homes that would be liable. In London, 59% of homes would meet the threshold, compared to just 8% in the North East.
But despite the proposed system potentially creating pockets of affordability across the country, Stinton echoed the concerns of many property industry figures and warned that such a change could result in a distorted market.
‘The prospect of reform could make buyers and sellers delay their moves while they wait for clarity’, he commented.
“Once in force it could reduce the supply of new homes coming onto the market, or warp house prices – with some owners trying to sell under £500,000 to stay below the threshold, and others increasing prices to offset the tax.
“The principle is right: our property taxes should fit today’s housing market, not the one we had decades ago. But it’s vital the detail is carefully designed so we don’t swap one barrier for another.”
