Official Statistics

Quarterly Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) statistics commentary

Updated 31 January 2024

Applies to England and Northern Ireland

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1. About this release

This publication provides quarterly statistics on receipts and transactions for Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) where the transaction value is £40,000 or above. It includes the whole of the UK up to April 2015; England, Wales, and Northern Ireland from April 2015 up to April 2018; and England and Northern Ireland from April 2018 onwards.

Data is split by property type, liability threshold and price band, including transactions paying the higher rates of SDLT for additional dwellings (HRAD), Non-Residents Stamp Duty Land Tax (NRSDLT) transactions and transactions claiming First Time Buyers’ Relief (FTBR).

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has made improvements to the methodology for estimating HRAD and NRSDLT receipts and number of liable HRAD and NRSDLT transactions, effective from Q2 2022. These resulted in uplifts to both receipts and transaction numbers, and as such HRAD and NRSDLT data is no longer directly comparable to previous years.

This publication includes new SDLT return data for Q4 2023 (covering the period from 1 October to 31 December 2023), but it contains no new information on total SDLT receipts as these are published each month in the ‘HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK’ publication. It should be noted that Q represents quarter within these statistics.

These statistics are National Statistics, National Statistics are accredited official statistics.

2. Headline findings

The headline findings in this quarterly report are:

2.1 Transactions

The headline transaction findings are:

  • total SDLT transactions in Q4 2023 (October to December) were marginally higher (less than 1%) than in the previous quarter, and 20% lower than in Q4 2022

  • residential property transactions in Q4 2023 were marginally lower (less than 1%) than in the previous quarter, and 22% lower than in Q4 2022

  • non-residential property transactions in Q4 2023 were 10% higher than in the previous quarter, and remained unchanged compared to Q4 2022

2.2 Receipts

The headline receipts findings are:

  • total SDLT receipts in Q4 2023 were marginally lower (less than 1%) than in the previous quarter, and 21% lower than Q4 2022

  • residential property receipts in Q4 2023 were 4% lower than in the previous quarter, and 25% lower than Q4 2022

  • non-residential property receipts in Q4 2023 were 10% higher than in the previous quarter, and were 10% lower than Q4 2022

2.3 First Time Buyers’ Relief

The residential SDLT holiday between 8 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 meant that there was no requirement to claim First Time Buyers’ Relief. As such, we only report figures up to Q3 2020 and from Q3 2021 for this relief.

The findings for First Time Buyers’ Relief are outlined below:

  • since the relief was introduced in Q4 2017 up to Q3 2020, there were 547,600 claims that have benefited from the relief, and the total amount relieved by these claims was £1,309 million

  • since Q3 2021 (the quarter following the ending of the residential SDLT holiday), there were 443,900 claims made with £1,505 million being relieved

2.4 HRAD and non-UK resident surcharge

The headline HRAD and non-UK resident surcharge findings are:

  • 50,900 transactions were liable to HRAD in Q4 2023, with the 3% element generating £465 million in receipts (net of refunds). This is an increase of 3% from the previous quarter, and a decrease of 24% compared to Q4 2022

  • the percentage of residential receipts from HRAD transactions increased by 3 percentage points from 46% in Q3 2023 to 49% in Q4 2023

  • the 2% surcharge on the purchase of residential properties by non-residents was charged in 5,300 transactions in Q4 2023. This is an increase of 8% when compared to Q3 2023 which saw 4,900 transactions

  • in Q4 2023 the 2% surcharge on NRSDLT generated £63 million (net of refunds), compared to £51 million generated in Q3 2023

3. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

SDLT is paid on property or land purchases in England and Northern Ireland. The SDLT due depends on the purchase price, with rates and thresholds differing depending on the property type or if it is an additional dwelling. Some transactions qualify for reliefs such as First Time Buyers’ Relief.

4. Key Summary

The figure below shows that the total number of SDLT transactions have risen slightly in the latest quarter, whilst SDLT receipts have marginally fallen compared to the previous quarter.

Figure 1: Transactions have risen slightly whilst receipts have fallen slightly in Q4 2023

Figure 1 demonstrates the following quarterly trends:

  • the total number of SDLT transactions have risen slightly in the latest quarter

  • whilst SDLT receipts have marginally fallen compared to the previous quarter

5. Quarterly Transactions

The latest quarter has seen the number of transactions rise slightly compared to Q3 2023, this follows the rise in the previous quarter which followed the lowest transaction levels since Q2 2020.

Figure 2: Transactions have risen marginally in the latest quarter, following on from an increase in the previous quarter

Figure 2 demonstrates the following quarterly trends:

  • transactions have risen marginally in the latest quarter, following on from an increase in the previous quarter

  • residential transactions (excluding HRAD) have fallen slightly in the latest quarter, whilst all liable HRAD transactions have risen slightly in the latest quarter

  • non-residential transactions have risen in the latest quarter

6. Summary of key definitions

6.1 Standard rate transactions

Refers to liable residential transactions that are not purchased as additional dwellings or purchased by non-individuals.

6.2 Liable & Non-liable

The split between the liable and non-liable transactions is dependent on the level of the SDLT threshold. The current SDLT threshold is £250,000 for residential properties and £150,000 for non-residential properties.

6.3 Price bands

Transactions under £250,000 do not include transactions valued at less than £40,000 as these transactions do not require returns and are therefore not captured in HMRC’s Stamp Duty Land Tax database. Further information can be found in the Methodology Quality Report Annual UK Stamp Tax statistics - January 2024 report published on the GOV.UK website. This document was published on 31 January 2024.

7. Residential transactions

7.1 Definition

Residential property refers to buildings used or suitable for use as a dwelling, or in the process of being constructed for use as a dwelling. It also includes the gardens and ground of dwellings.

The summary findings for residential transactions in this quarterly report are:

  • 89% of all SDLT transactions were for residential properties in Q4 2023

  • this represents a decrease of 1 percentage point from Q3 2023, and a decrease of 2 percentage points from Q4 2022

  • the number of residential property transactions in Q4 2023 was marginally lower (less than 1%) than in the previous quarter, and 22% lower than in Q4 2022

  • liable residential transactions decreased by 3% between Q3 2023 and Q4 2023 (from 131,800 to 127,600), and comparison to Q4 2022 shows a 25% fall

  • non-liable residential transactions increased in Q4 2023, by 3% compared to Q3 2023 (from 107,200 to 110,100), whilst comparing to Q4 2022 shows a 17% decrease (from 132,800)

7.2 Non-residential transactions

Non-residential transactions (liable and non-liable) increased by 10% from 25,700 in Q3 2023 to 28,300 in Q4 2023. Non-residential transactions remained unchanged from 28,300 in Q4 2022.

7.3 Residential - Liable transactions

The summary findings for residential liable transactions in this quarterly report are:

  • in Q4 2023, 54% of residential transactions were liable for SDLT, compared to 56% in Q4 2022

  • liable residential transactions decreased by 3% between Q3 2023 and Q4 2023 (from 131,800 to 127,600). Comparison to Q4 2022 shows a 25% fall

  • 23% of liable residential transactions were valued at under £250,000. Liable transactions in this band decreased by 19% from 36,400 to 29,400 when comparing Q4 2022 to Q4 2023

  • comparing between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, liable residential transactions valued between £250,000 to £500,000 have decreased by 25% from 83,200 to 62,100 while combined liable residential transactions over £500,000 decreased by 29% from 50,700 to 36,200

8. Higher rates of SDLT transactions for Additional Properties

Additional dwellings purchased by individuals and residential property purchased by non-individuals are required to pay the standard rate of SDLT plus 3%. This applies for example to purchases of second homes and buy-to-let properties. These rates, formally known as higher rates for additional dwellings (HRAD or ‘higher rates’), were introduced in April 2016. Repayments of the higher rates are available to an individual who has sold their previous main residence within 36 months of paying the higher SDLT rates.

HMRC has made improvements to the methodology for estimating HRAD receipts paying 3% surcharges and number of liable HRAD transactions, effective from Q2 2022. These have resulted in uplifts to both receipts and transaction numbers from Q2 2022 onwards, and as such data is no longer directly comparable to previous years.

The summary findings for higher rates of SDLT transactions in this quarterly report are:

  • liable HRAD transactions decreased by 21% from 64,600 in Q4 2022 to 50,900 in Q4 2023. When comparing to Q3 2023 there has been a rise of 1%

  • HRAD transactions account for 40% of all liable transactions, an increase of 2 percentage points compared to Q4 2022. Similarly, comparing to Q3 2023 shows an increase of 2 percentage points

  • around 55% of HRAD transactions were under £250,000 in Q4 2023. HRAD transactions in this band decreased by 18% from 34,100 in Q4 2022 to 28,000 in Q4 2023

9. Non-Residents Stamp Duty Land Tax (NRSDLT)

HM Revenue and Customs has also made improvements to the methodology for estimating NRSDLT receipts and number of liable NRSDLT transactions, effective from Q2 2022. These have resulted in uplifts to both receipts and transaction numbers from Q2 2022 onwards, and as such data is no longer directly comparable to previous years.

A 2% surcharge for NRSDLT was introduced on the purchase of properties by non-residents from 1 April 2021 (the start of Q2 2021). The statistics for this change to the SDLT system show:

  • up to Q4 2023 there have been 54,600 transactions that have incurred the surcharge yielding £551 million of additional tax

  • NRSDLT transactions decreased by 13% from 6,100 in Q4 2022 to 5,300 in Q4 2023, and there was an increase of 8% from 4,900 transactions in Q3 2023

10. First Time Buyers’ Relief (FTBR)

FTBR was introduced in November 2017 and applied to purchases of dwellings for £500,000 or less, provided the purchaser has never owned a property and intends to occupy the property as their only or main residence. Under the relief, transactions valued at £300,000 or less were not liable. The thresholds were increased on 23 September 2022 so that it applies to transactions of £625,000 or less with no tax payable for properties valued at £425,000 or less.

The residential SDLT holiday between 8 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 meant that there was no requirement to claim First Time Buyers’ Relief. As such, we only report figures up to Q3 2020 and from Q3 2021 for this relief.

The findings for First Time Buyers’ Relief are outlined below:

  • since the relief was introduced in Q4 2017, up to Q3 2020 there were 547,600 claims that have benefitted from the relief, and the total amount relieved by these claims was £1,309 million

  • since Q3 2021 (the quarter following the ending of the residential SDLT holiday), there were 443,900 claims made with £1,505 million being relieved

  • in the latest quarter 13% of residential transactions claimed the relief, remaining unchanged compared to the previous quarter

11. Non-residential transactions

11.1 Definition

Includes, commercial property, agricultural land, forests, any other land, or property which is not residential, 6 or more residential properties bought in a single transaction, and mixed-use transactions.

The summary findings for non-residential transactions in this quarterly report are:

  • non-residential transactions (liable and non-liable) remained unchanged compared to Q4 2022 (28,300), while there was an increase of 10% from 25,700 in Q3 2023

  • 68% of non-residential transactions were liable for SDLT in Q4 2023, this is a decrease of 1 percentage point compared to Q3 2023

  • liable non-residential transactions decreased by 1% from 19,500 in Q4 2022 to 19,300 in Q4 2023

  • there were 12,300 liable non-residential transactions under £250,000 in Q4 2023, increasing by 4% compared to Q4 2022

  • over the same quarterly comparison period, transactions between £250,000 to £500,000 decreased by 6% to 2,900 from 3,100, whilst transactions valued at £500,000 and over decreased by 11% from 4,500 to 4,000

12. Quarterly Receipts

Receipts fell between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, coinciding with a fall in transactions. Compared to Q3 2023, total receipts have fallen slightly, despite a slight increase in total transactions. Residential receipts have fallen in Q4 2023, driven by residential non-HRAD receipts and following a fall in residential transactions, whilst non-residential receipts have seen a slight increase mirroring the increase in non-residential transactions.

Figure 3: Residential receipts (excluding HRAD) have fallen following a fall in residential transactions, whilst non-residential receipts have risen, driven by increases in non-residential transactions in the latest quarter

Figure 3 demonstrates the following quarterly trends:

  • in the latest quarter, residential receipts (excluding HRAD) have fallen following a fall in residential transactions

  • whilst non-residential receipts have risen in the latest quarter, driven by increases in non-residential transactions

12.1 Summary

The summary findings for receipts in this quarterly report are:

  • quarterly net SDLT receipts decreased by 21% between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023: £4,075 million in Q4 2022 compared to £3,205 million in Q4 2023. A comparison to Q3 2023 shows a marginal decrease (less than 1%)

  • residential SDLT receipts decreased by 25% between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023: £3,150 million in Q4 2022 compared to £2,375 million in Q4 2023. A comparison to Q3 2023 shows a decrease of 4%

  • total receipts for transactions liable to HRAD decreased by 19%, from £1,436 million in Q4 2022 to £1,165 million in Q4 2023 while comparison to Q3 2023 shows an increase of 3%

  • 49% (£1,165 million) of residential receipts were from HRAD transactions in Q4 2023, of which £465 million are estimated to be from the additional 3% rate

  • in Q4 2023 there was a total of 6,400 additional dwellings refunds made for which a total amount of £113 million was refunded

  • non-residential receipts decreased by 10%, from £925 million in Q4 2022 to £830 million in Q4 2023, while comparison to Q3 2023 shows an increase of 10%

13. Background information - recent changes in stamp taxes

On 8 July 2020, the SDLT holiday was introduced. This raised the nil rate band for SDLT to £500,000 for the purchase of residential properties. On 1 April 2021, a 2% Non-Resident Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge was introduced for non-residents who purchase residential property.

In March 2021 taxpayers sought to complete property purchases before the original end date of the SDLT holiday of 31 March 2021 and introduction of the Non-Resident Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge.

The SDLT holiday continued until 30 June 2021, after which time the nil-rate band reduced to the first £250,000 of the purchase price until 30 September 2021. Beyond this date the nil-rate band reverted to the first £125,000 of the purchase price.

Following the extension of the SDLT holiday after March 2021 there were significant spikes in transactions towards the end of June 2021 and the end of September 2021 as taxpayers sought to complete transactions before 30 June 2021 and 30 September 2021.

On 23 September 2022, the government announced that the 2% standard rate for residential properties for the part of the property price between £125,000 and £250,000 no longer applies. The announcement also included the raising of the thresholds for First Time Buyers’ Relief so that these purchases are completely exempt for the first £425,000 of the purchase price. The total purchase price, lease premium or transfer value under which first time buyers could qualify for the relief was also increased from £500,000 to £625,000.

14. Methodology and Quality report

For key definitions, guidance and references see the published tables and the Quality report for UK Stamp Taxes Publication.

15. Contact information

Email stamptaxes.statistics@hmrc.gov.uk

Go to the following link for further Stamp duties statistics.

Media 03000 585 024

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