Friday 23 September 2022 06:26 PM Stamp duty cut calculator: How much will you pay after the mini-Budget? trends now

A stamp duty cut was announced today by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in his mini-Budget but home buyers hoping for a major overhaul will have been left disappointed. 

The threshold at which stamp duty kicks in will be immediately and permanently doubled from £125,000 to £250,000, but the rates will not change meaning the maximum saving is £2,500.

For someone buying a £270,000 average home this will mean that their bill is reduced from £3,500 to £1,000. 

First-time buyers will see their exemption level raised from £300,000 to £425,000 and pay no stamp duty up to that level - saving them a maximum £6,250.

The move in the so-called mini-Budget is a cut to one of Britain's least favourite taxes that has a far greater impact on some buyers than others.

While first-time buyers get a stamp duty exemption and those buying an average UK £270,000 home face bills of about £3,500, people buying family homes in more expensive areas can face bills of tens of thousands of pounds.

But the mini-Budget permanent cut to stamp duty so nothing is paid up to £250,000 will save people far less than Rishi Sunak's previous stamp duty holiday, which removed the tax up to £500,000.

Under the mini-Budget stamp duty cut buyers will save a maximum of £2,500, whereas under Sunak's stamp duty holiday they could save a maximum of £15,000.