New stamp duty land tax rate
The new higher stamp duty land tax rate of 5% came into effect on 6 April 2011. The new higher rate will be applied to residential property sales where consideration exceeds £1 million and where the effective date of the transaction is on or after 6 April 2011.
This new rate is in addition to the existing 4% rate which continues to apply to transactions between £500,000 and £1 million. The new 5% rate is only for residential property. The sale of non-residential and mixed use properties is not affected by the new rate.
There are transitional arrangements in place where a contract was entered into before 25 March 2010 (the date this measure was announced) but completion did not happen before 6 April 2011. In most such cases the new rate will not apply.