Stamp duty hol ‘should end in stages’

EXTENDING the stamp duty holiday until the end of June risks creating another ‘cliff edge’ for the housing market, experts have warned.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) is to use his Budget on March 3 to put back the March 31 deadline by three months, The Times has reported.

But there are fears that the current scramble to complete deals – and the prospect of a price dip when the holiday is over – will simply be pushed a ‘few miles down the road’.

Nitesh Patel, economist at Yorkshire Building Society, urged the government to consider a tapering of the tax relief.

This would give ‘a period of grace’ which would allow agreed property sales to be completed with stamp duty reduction benefit, he added.

Adrian Jaggard, the chief executive of conveyancers Taylor Rose MW, said: ‘Pressure could be reduced at a controlled rate by a tapered end to an extended SDLT (stamp duty land tax) holiday period, or ideally a wholesale review of the SDLT.’

Rightmove estimates 100,000 buyers who agreed a purchase last year will lose out if the deadline remains March 31.

But Richard Donnell, research director at Zoopla, warned: ‘While this potential extension will inject a new wave of impetus into the market, drawing in new buyers until Easter, the chancellor hasn’t resolved the cliff edge that the market will face at the end of June, when the new deadline comes into play.’

The ‘nil rate’ stamp duty threshold was temporarily raised from £125,000 to £500,000 last July.

The pandemic has added to the pressure on the system as buyers rush to beat the deadline.

A Treasury spokesman said the department could not speculate on tax ahead of

fiscal events.