Stamp duty news and analysis published on this site, newest first. This is an article index rather than a single answer page: pick a story below, or use the guides linked underneath for the current rules.
Articles here fall into four groups: Budget and policy announcements, HMRC statistics and receipts data, tribunal and court decisions that change how a rule is applied, and reform proposals that have been floated but not enacted. Each is dated and reflects the position at the time of writing.
News coverage is deliberately kept separate from the reference pages. If you want to know what the rules are right now rather than what changed and when, use the current stamp duty rates for 2026. For the sequence of past changes and the dates each took effect, see the history of stamp duty changes, which tracks every threshold and surcharge movement.
Proposals reported in the press are not law until they appear in a Finance Act. Where an article covers a proposal, it says so explicitly, and the rate pages are only updated once a change is actually enacted.
The Providence House sale included five small flats, so the six-dwelling rule made it non-residential for stamp duty. On the reported £265m price that is £13.2m instead of £31.7m. The rule, what both sides said, and whether HMRC or the Treasury can act.
On 11 September 2026 Berkeley asked for 1% stamp duty caps for first-time buyers and downsizers, and warned buyers may wait for the Budget. A Treasury letter dated 8 September had already ruled out new downsizer relief. What each side said, and what a cap is worth in pounds.
The Prime Minister ruled out changing stamp duty at this Budget on 27 July. The Chancellor declined to rule out tax rises on 7 September. Both are true, and the gap between them is where the coverage goes wrong. What is confirmed, what is speculation, and whether to delay a purchase.
Reports said HMRC inspectors will enter homes to value them for the £2m surcharge, with fines for owners who refuse. The power is section 25A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, inserted in 2015, and it requires First-tier Tribunal approval and three clear days' notice. What the £200 and £500 fines actually cover.
HMRC's 21 August release was reported as an 8% rise in stamp taxes. Separating property from shares gives a different picture: SDLT alone was £4,980m for April to July, up 5.7%, July fell 2.5% year on year, and the calendar year is flat to within £11m.
A paddock let to a livery yard since 1989 was still the grounds of the house in Ferguson [2026] UKFTT 00238 (TC). So was a field grazed by a neighbour's sheep, agricultural on every official map, in Sinclair [2026] UKFTT 00798 (TC). With Brzezicki and Wood, three of four rulings went HMRC's way. What that means before you amend a return.
Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026, with John Healey as Chancellor. His past support for a Land Value Tax, what analysts expect at the autumn Budget, and why nothing changes for buyers today: SDLT rates remain exactly as set in April 2025.
The High Value Council Tax Surcharge consultation closed on 14 July 2026: deferral rules, a possible non-resident premium, and valuation by the VOA. Plus the reported £1.5m threshold cut that would catch 150,000 more homes, and why the £2m+ base is already shrinking.
The cross-party Housing Committee has urged the Government to consult on alternatives to stamp duty before the end of 2026, alongside council tax reform. The four options on the table, the industry reaction, and why reform is fiscally harder than it looks.
A Treasury FoI reveals £215m of lost SDLT and £65m of lost IHT before the High-Value Council Tax Surcharge takes effect in 2028, plus £150m to identify in-scope homes. Net revenue revised down from £1.4bn to £930m.
Rachel Reeves left SDLT untouched in the March 2026 Spring Statement. With only 41% of homes under the FTB threshold and 800,000 shelved moves, pressure grows for Autumn 2026 action.
The 5% surcharge, 17% corporate rate, and Scotland's 8% ADS. Entry cost analysis, rental yield vs SDLT payback, and whether BTL still makes financial sense for individual landlords.
HMRC data reveals 1 in 4 FTB relief claimants still paid tax. Average bill £4,073. Why the tiered relief system means buying above £300,000 always triggers a stamp duty charge.
The Welsh Revenue Authority raised the Wales LTT MDR minimum from 1% to 3% on 13 February 2026. What portfolio landlords and developers buying multiple Welsh properties need to know.
A 12-month data review of the April 2025 SDLT threshold reversion: 77,480 extra completions in the pre-deadline rush, the forestalling pattern across UK SDLT history, BTL/HRAD double-deadline analysis, FTB impact, and regional price effects.
The Scottish Government is reviewing LBTT with results expected before the end of the Parliamentary term. ADS, nil-rate thresholds, and first-time buyer relief all under scrutiny.
London prices fell 2.5% in the year to June 2026, the weakest of any English region, while the North West rose 4.7% (ONS, June 2026). Stamp duty implications and regional cost comparisons for buyers and investors.
The running series for England and Northern Ireland: financial-year totals from 2019-20 to 2025-26, with £15,159m in 2025-26 against £13,883m in 2024-25, every month of calendar 2026 to July, the split against Scottish LBTT and Welsh LTT, and how four different totals all get called stamp duty receipts.
The Renters' Rights Act's conversion to periodic tenancies could trigger stamp duty liability for 150,000 tenants within three years.
The Autumn Budget 2025 introduced a high-value council tax surcharge on homes in England worth more than £2 million, affecting an estimated 165,000 properties from April 2028.
In Sehgal v Revenue [2025] UKFTT 1439, the tribunal ruled a basement storage unit made a £18.25m purchase mixed-use, saving £1.75m in SDLT.
Every Budget and Autumn Statement SDLT change since 2020: COVID holiday, Sept 2022 mini-budget, Autumn Statement 2023, Autumn Budget 2024 (5% surcharge), April 2025 reversion, Autumn Budget 2025 (£2m High-Value Council Tax). Plus OBR forecasts to 2030-31.
Should the UK abolish stamp duty? Kemi Badenoch's £9-11bn abolition pledge, Cambridge 3.57% welfare research, IFS analysis, evidence from past holidays, and where Labour, Lib Dems and Reform UK stand.
From Conservative abolition to IPPR proportional property tax and the TBI loan model: every serious stamp duty reform proposal with the academic evidence behind each.
Side-by-side comparison of SDLT, LBTT, and LTT with worked examples from £200k to £1m. At £300k, you pay £5,000 in England vs £4,600 in Scotland.