Great News – Expats Qualify for Stamp Duty Freeze

Today the Government announced that Stamp Duty has taken a holiday. So, exactly what has changed?

The government has increased the lower stamp duty threshold to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland. This means that any property purchases below £500,000 will not need to pay stamp duty as long as the deal is completed before 31 March 2021.

Here’s the best bit… the stamp duty holiday will include property purchases completed by expats. This could therefore save expats up to £15,000 in stamp duty fees, depending on the price of the property you are purchasing.

If you are an expat planning to purchase, the transaction needs to be completed by 31st March 2021. With the average property purchase usually taking around 10-12 weeks, British expats planning to purchase an investment property in the UK need to act very quickly.

The government predicts that the average stamp duty bill will fall by £4,500, but the saving will be a huge £15,000 for a property priced at £500,000.

This means if you were considering a new investment property in the next 6-9 months, now is the time to do so. If you would like to find out more, contact us today to discuss how this affects your circumstances.