People buying homes in Wales for less than £225,000 will pay no tax, under new measures announced by the Finance Minister. The threshold for paying Land Transaction Tax (previously known as stamp duty) is being increased from £180,000 and the change will come into force from October 10.
There will also be a small increase in the rate of Land Transaction Tax for homes that cost more than £345,000. The Welsh Government has said that the move is intended to ensure that the threshold for paying tax reflects the rise in the prices of homes over the last two years.
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The key details of the move are:
- People buying homes under £225,000 will not pay any Land Transaction Tax.
- Anyone buying a home costing less than £345,000 will see a reduction in the tax they pay, up to a maximum of £1,575.
- People buying homes worth more than £345,000 will see an increase – up to £550 – but these only represent around 15% of property transactions in Wales.
All other elements of Land Transaction Tax will remain unchanged, meaning there are no tax reductions provided to those purchasing second homes in Wales. This is unlike with stamp duty land tax in England.
With these new main residential rates:
- 85% of transactions will see a tax reduction or no change in tax.
- There will be tax reduction between £180k and £345k (39% of transactions).
- There will be no change for those below the current £180k threshold (46% of transactions).
The new threshold of £225,000 is higher than the latest mean house price (£220,000) and the mean first-time buyer price (£190,000) in Wales.
The new rates and bands are listed below:
| Price threshold |
LTT rate |
| The portion up to and including £225,000 |
0% |
| The portion over £225,000 up to and including £400,000 |
6% |
| The portion over £400,000 up to and including £750,000 |
7.5% |
| The portion over £750,000 up to and including £1,500,000 |
10% |
| The portion over £1,500,000 |
12% |
Rebecca Evans, minister for finance and local government, said: “This is a change tailored to the unique needs of the housing market in Wales and contributes to our wider vision of a fairer tax system. 61% of homebuyers will not pay tax on their purchase. These changes will get support to people who need it and help with the impact of rising interest rates.
“We also know that helping people at the lower end of the market will have a particular benefit for first time buyers. We help people buy their first home in a number of different ways, including shared ownership and help to buy schemes, and I am pleased to be able to extend that support through these changes to Land Transaction Tax.”
The changes have been brought forward as a result of changes to stamp duty land tax (paid in England and Northern Ireland) announced by the UK Government in last week’s financial statement. The Welsh Government said it was considering making changes at its budget later this year, but is making changes now to give clarity to the housing market.
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