On April 6th 2011 property and land purchases above £1 million increased to the highest ever stamp duty rate of 5%.
The former Chancellor, Alexander Darling, devised the increase to fund the first-time buyer relief below £250,000.
Residential purchases above £1 million now attract a stamp duty liability of at least £50,000. This is believed to affect approximately 15,000 buyers each year mostly dwelling in the London area.
The new higher rate of stamp duty was thought to be the former government's attempt to put the squeeze on bonus earners and wealthy cash-rich investors who were understood to be responsible for keeping property prices from crashing over the last two years.
As a result of this increase Stamp Duty Mitigation above £1 million is likely to become more and more popular with savings of over 3% of the property value usually achieved.
If you are buying above £1,000,000 and you would like information or a quote from the UK's most experienced Stamp Duty Tax Planning Specialists, please enter your details into our online Enquiry form on the right. We will contact you as soon as possible.