SDLT Receipts Hit Record £13.9bn in 2024-25
HMRC statistics show stamp duty receipts jumped 20% to £13.9 billion in 2024-25, driven by the pre-April 2025 rush to complete before threshold reductions.
In this article
Key Takeaways
- SDLT receipts hit record £13.9 billion in FY 2024-25, up 20% from £11.6bn in 2023-24
- Total UK property transaction tax revenue reached approximately £14.7bn (SDLT £13.9bn + LBTT ~£0.6bn + LTT ~£0.2bn)
- Calendar year 2025 (Jan-Nov) saw £13.7bn of SDLT collected, running 19% ahead of the same period in 2024
- Average SDLT receipt per residential transaction: ~£13,238 in 2024-25
- 2024-25 is the second-highest annual SDLT figure on record, surpassed only by £15.2bn in 2022-23
- SDLT represents roughly 0.6% of UK GDP, making it the third-largest property tax behind council tax and business rates
- OBR forecasts 2025-26 receipts will moderate to £12-13bn as the pre-deadline rush effect unwinds, but stay above the 2023-24 baseline
- House price growth (~5% in 2024) provides a structural revenue tailwind: rising prices push more transactions into higher rate bands
Record-Breaking Stamp Duty Revenue
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) receipts reached a record £13.9 billion in financial year 2024-25, marking a 20% increase from £11.6 billion collected in 2023-24. The figures, published by HMRC in their annual UK Stamp Tax Statistics release, make 2024-25 the second-highest annual SDLT figure on record — surpassed only by the £15.2 billion collected in 2022-23. This article focuses on the revenue side: rates, four-nation split, OBR forecasts, and SDLT's place in the UK tax base. For the buyer-behaviour and transaction-volume side of the same story, see our April 2025: One Year On retrospective.
Calendar year 2025 (Jan-Nov) saw £13.7 billion of SDLT collected, running 19% ahead of the same period in 2024. See our current rates page for the thresholds in force.
SDLT Revenue Highlights — 2024-25
- • Total SDLT receipts: £13.9 billion (+20% YoY)
- • Average receipt per residential transaction: ~£13,238
- • HRAD (BTL/second-home surcharge) revenue: £2.79bn (+52% YoY)
- • Calendar year 2025 (Jan-Nov): £13.7bn collected
- • Total UK property transaction tax (incl. LBTT, LTT): ~£14.7bn
- • Share of UK GDP: ~0.6%
The £13.9bn figure makes SDLT the third-largest property-related tax in the UK, behind only council tax (~£44bn) and business rates (~£28bn). Calculate your own SDLT liability using our stamp duty calculator.
Year-by-Year Receipts Comparison
The following table shows how SDLT receipts have fluctuated over recent years, heavily influenced by policy changes and market conditions:
| Financial Year | SDLT Receipts | YoY Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | £11.6bn | - | Pre-pandemic baseline |
| 2020-21 | £8.67bn | -25% | COVID-19 & stamp duty holiday |
| 2021-22 | £14.1bn | +63% | Holiday extension & market surge |
| 2022-23 | £15.2bn | +8% | Peak before rate reversion |
| 2023-24 | £11.6bn | -24% | Market cooling |
| 2024-25 | £13.9bn | +20% | Pre-April 2025 rush |
The table illustrates the cyclical nature of stamp duty receipts, with government policy changes creating significant peaks and troughs. The 2024-25 figure sits between the post-holiday crash and the all-time peak, reflecting both strong transaction volumes and the behavioral response to announced rate changes.
Four-Nation Revenue Split: SDLT vs LBTT vs LTT
Property transaction tax is devolved across the UK. England and Northern Ireland share SDLT (administered by HMRC), while Scotland operates LBTT through Revenue Scotland, and Wales operates LTT through the Welsh Revenue Authority. Total UK property transaction tax revenue in 2024-25 was approximately £14.7 billion.
| Nation / System | 2024-25 Revenue | Administering Body | Share of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDLT (England & NI) | £13.9 billion | HMRC | ~95% |
| LBTT (Scotland) | ~£0.6 billion | Revenue Scotland | ~4% |
| LTT (Wales) | ~£0.2 billion | Welsh Revenue Authority | ~1% |
| UK Total | ~£14.7 billion | — | 100% |
SDLT's dominant share reflects England's population scale and its concentration of high-value London & South East transactions. See our side-by-side comparison of SDLT, LBTT and LTT for how the rate structures differ.
What Drove the Revenue Increase
Three structural factors contributed to the record £13.9bn revenue figure:
1. The April 2025 Deadline Effect
The pre-April 2025 rush concentrated tax receipts into a narrow window. With the nil-rate band falling from £250,000 to £125,000, every property over £125k would have generated more SDLT post-April — so completions were pulled forward, generating revenue in 2024-25 that would otherwise have arrived later. Read more about the April 2025 changes and the 12-month retrospective on the market impact.
2. Higher Additional Property Surcharge
The additional dwelling surcharge rose from 3% to 5% on 31 October 2024. HRAD revenue (the BTL/second-home component) jumped from £1.84bn in 2023-24 to £2.79bn in 2024-25 — a 52% increase — reflecting both higher transaction volumes pre-October and the higher surcharge rate applied to post-October completions.
3. House Price Growth
UK house prices grew approximately 5% in 2024 according to major indices. Because SDLT is a percentage of price, rising prices push more transactions into higher rate bands and lift average bills. This is a structural revenue tailwind that will continue to compound as long as prices grow faster than the (frozen) thresholds.
SDLT in the UK Tax Base
At £13.9bn, SDLT represents roughly 0.6% of UK GDP and around 1.3% of total HMRC receipts. It is the third-largest property-related tax in the UK, behind council tax and business rates. The average SDLT receipt per residential transaction in 2024-25 was approximately £13,238.
| UK Property Tax | 2024-25 Revenue (approx.) | Tax Base |
|---|---|---|
| Council Tax | ~£44bn | Annual residential charge |
| Business Rates | ~£28bn | Annual non-domestic charge |
| SDLT | £13.9bn | Residential transaction tax |
| ATED | ~£0.1bn | Annual enveloped dwellings |
| LBTT & LTT (devolved) | ~£0.8bn combined | Scotland & Wales transaction tax |
For context on how every Budget since 2020 has shaped this revenue stream, see our Budget stamp duty timeline.
OBR Forecast & Revenue Outlook
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publishes multi-year SDLT forecasts as part of each fiscal event's Economic and Fiscal Outlook. Following the 2024-25 peak, OBR forecasts 2025-26 receipts to moderate to the £12-13 billion range as the pre-deadline rush effect unwinds, but to remain comfortably above the 2023-24 baseline of £11.6bn.
Forecast Drivers
- • Lower nil-rate band catches more buyers: a structural revenue gain that should persist
- • 5% additional property surcharge remains in force, supporting HRAD receipts
- • House price growth continues to push transactions into higher rate bands
- • Frozen thresholds mean fiscal drag amplifies revenue over time
Longer-term, SDLT remains politically contested precisely because it is fiscally significant. Replacing the £14.7bn would require raising income tax by approximately 3.5p, or introducing an annual property charge averaging £550 per household. See our analysis of stamp duty reform proposals for the abolition debate, or the Budget timeline for the policy history.
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Go to CalculatorReviewed by
Emma Richardson, MRICS
Chartered Surveyor & Property Tax Specialist
Emma Richardson is a RICS-qualified Chartered Surveyor with over 12 years of experience in UK property taxation. She founded Calculate My Stamp Duty UK to help buyers understand the complex world of property transaction taxes.