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The chancellor has announced a temporary holiday on stamp duty on the first £500,000 of all property sales in England and Northern Ireland and the changes are being made with immediate effect

What is stamp duty?

Stamp duty is a tax paid by people buying properties, although it varies slightly across the UK.

In England and Northern Ireland buyers pay Stamp Duty Land Tax.

The amount handed to the government depends on where you are in the UK, and the price of the property.

The changes to stamp duty will only apply to buyers in England and Northern Ireland.

What has changed?

The government has temporarily increased the stamp duty threshold to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland, until 31 March 2021.

Anyone completing on a main residence costing up to £500,000 between 8 July and 31 March will not pay any stamp duty, and more expensive properties will only be taxed on their value above that amount.

This will save buyers as much as £15,000, if they are buying a property of £500,000 or more.

How much stamp duty will I pay now?

If the property purchased is your main home you won't pay any stamp duty on it at all if it costs £500,000 or less.

The next portion of the property's price (£500,001 to £925,000) will be taxed at 5%, and the £575,000 after that (£925,001 to £1.5 million) will be taxed at 10%

The remaining amount (over £1.5 million) will be taxed at 12%. You can calculate how much you are liable to pay here

Before the announcement, stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland was paid on land or property sold for £125,000 or more, while first-time buyers did not pay any stamp duty up to £300,000. But this stamp duty holiday replaces the first-time buyer discount.

Landlords and second home buyers are also eligible for the tax cut but will still have to pay the extra 3% of stamp duty they were charged under the previous rul