Duties

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT): temporary increase in thresholds

Last year the Government raised the threshold at which SDLT becomes payable from transactions in excess of £125,000 to those in excess of £175,000 in a bid to revive the UK’s ailing housing market.

This provides an exemption from SDLT for land transactions consisting entirely of residential property where the chargeable consideration is not more than £175,000.
The so-called SDLT 'holiday' applies to transactions with an effective date on or after 3 September 2008 and before 3 September 2009.

This latest measure means that the increased threshold of £175,000 for residential property will continue to apply beyond 3 September 2009 and will now end on 31 December 2009.

Following the reforms, SDLT is currently charged at 1% on properties sold for between £175,001 and £250,000, with the tax rising to 3% above this level. Homes worth more than £500,000 attract tax at a rate of 4%.

Alcohol and tobacco products duty

All duty rates for alcohol will rise by 2% from their current levels. The impact of the changes on retail prices from 23 April 2009 for typical alcoholic drinks is equivalent to:

• 13p on a 70cl bottle of spirits
• 1p on a pint of beer
• 1p on a litre of still cider
• 4p on a 75cl bottle of sparkling cider
• 4p on a 75cl bottle of wine/made wine
• 5p on a 75cl bottle of sparkling wine.

The duty rates for tobacco products are increased by 2%.