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Following on from the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, the Scottish Government has also announced a temporary holiday on LBTT (the equivalent of Stamp Duty in England) in order to get the housing market in Scotland moving again.

In Scotland, homebuyers have been required to pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) on residential properties over £145,000, with the exception of first-time buyers in Scotland who are not required to pay LBTT on a property purchase up to £175,000. However now the threshold has been increased to £250,000 – this is a temporary cut running until 31 March 2021.

For properties above this threshold the amount paid to the government depends on the price of the property.

SDLT in England and Northern Ireland has also been cut, with the threshold temporarily increased to £500,000 until March 2021.

The temporary measure will be a welcome relief to those across the country who have been impacted by the recent coronavirus pandemic and are struggling to get on the property market or move house, and could save many buyers thousands of pounds on their next property purchase.