Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) receipts for the first four months of the 2021/22 tax year totalled £4.6 billion compared to £4.1bn collected in the same period in the 2019/20 tax year, despite the SDLT holiday, figures show.
Data from the Office for National Statistics also shows a sharp recovery in receipts from the £2.4bn collected in 2020/21, with collected tax for July 2021 reaching the highest amount for the year, standing at £1.39bn alone.
Introduced in July 2020, the SDLT holiday meant no tax was due for purchases on homes worth up to £500,000 until 30 June 2021, as the Government attempted to spur a slowing housing market.
It began tapering off for July 2021 to September 2021, with no SDLT due on purchases of homes worth up to £250,000.
According to HMRC, total SDLT transactions in Q2 2021 were 165% higher than in Q2 2020.
In its commentary on quarterly SDLT statistics, HMRC said:
"The increase in transactions in the last four quarters have been impacted by the introduction of the SDLT holiday for residential properties and an ongoing strength in the housing market."
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