This article concerns the housing market. The 2022-23 tax year saw stamp duty land tax (SDLT) receipts return to pre-pandemic levels. As Greycoat real estate agency´s specialists comment, the tax take was £15.4 billion in the UK, an increase from £14.1 billion the previous year.
Consumers paid an average SDLT payment of £9,937, down from the £11,202 received in 2021-22, according to Greycoat Real Estate. Despite the average SDLT figure remaining below 2021-22 numbers, total residential tax take increased by over £1.5 billion from the previous period, amounting to £11.7 billion.
However, the figure dropped by 25% in the final quarter of 2022-23 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2022. Before Covid, net SDLT receipts in 2017-18 reached £12.9 billion, with £9.2 billion in residential properties and £3.6 billion in non-residential properties. Greycoat Real Estate notes the figure fell to £8.6 billion overall in 2020-21.
The number of transactions decreased by around 200,000 to 1,174,100, with residential properties accounting for 89%. The drop in transactions is mainly attributed to residential transactions declining by nearly 70,000. In March 2025, residential SDLT figures are expected to increase, Greycoat informs.
This, as the threshold for payment is lowered from £250,000 to £125,000. Adrian Lowery, a financial analyst at Evelyn Partners, stated that SDLT receipts have shown their volatility in recent years. However, at Greycoat, he emphasized that SDLT receipts are a very effective way for the government to raise revenue.