Barclays issues £6,500 tax warning ahead of major deadline next month
Stamp duty is a tax that sometimes has to be paid when you buy a property. Whether you need to pay stamp duty depends on the price of the property you’re buying and if you’re a first-time buyer
Barclays has warned that housebuyers who miss the stamp duty deadline this month could face a tax bill of £6,512.
The high street lender says mortgage demand has surged as Brits race to complete their deals before the deadline on April 1. According to Barclays, the average monthly mortgage completions have increased 26% following stamp duty changes announced in the Autumn Budget, with first-time buyer purchases up 59%.
Stamp duty is a tax that sometimes has to be paid when you buy a property. Whether you need to pay stamp duty depends on the price of the property you’re buying and if you’re a first-time buyer.
There are also different stamp duty thresholds, which affect how much you may need to pay depending on whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: PIP disability benefit payments explained and what changes could be announced todayREAD MORE: HMRC sending nudge letters to Brits who make money by selling things onlineUnder current rules in England and Northern Ireland, you have to pay stamp duty if your property is your only residence and is worth over £250,000. This higher rate was introduced in September 2022 but is due to go back down to its previous level of £125,000 in March 2025.
The threshold for first time buyer relief will also drop from £425,000 to £300,000. Since the temporary thresholds were announced the Treasury has collected more than £31.3billion in property tax.
According to the January house price index (HPI) from property website Zoopla, demand for homes increased by 13% in January 2025 compared to the same period the previous year. This trend is likely to continue right up until the deadline, with thousands of Brits looking to try to beat it.
Barclays warns that the changes to stamp duty bands are also limiting the choice of property stock available for first-time buyers. According to its data, demand for homes above the current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has steadily declined each month, with completions in this bracket dropping from 21% in October 2024 to 16% in February 2025.
Among those currently buying a home, nearly one in eight say they will pull out of the deal if it is not completed before the end of March. Meanwhile, a fifth of prospective movers say that they will now look to buy a smaller property to mitigate the potential extra costs, with 18% changing their search location to a more affordable area.
With skyrocketing rent costs, one in five say it is one of the biggest barriers to owning a home, with nearly two-thirds of Gen Z renters saying that they would find it impossible to buy a home without an inheritance or a loan from a family member. Barclays’ data also revealed that the average age of a first-time buyer in the UK rose to nearly 34 in 2024, up from 32 only two years earlier.
Shopping hacks to save you money
Sian McIntyre, Managing Director of Mortgages and Savings at Barclays, said: "Our latest data indicates that prospective buyers are adapting their behaviour to get ahead of some of the volatility in the market. Encouragingly, amidst rising house prices, uncertainty around interest rates, and the upcoming changes to stamp duty, consumer confidence in the housing market is staying the course.
“Renters are still determined to overcome barriers to homeownership, with this resilience testament to the value individuals place on investing in property. We have several products like Barclays Springboard Mortgage and Mortgage Boost which can help first timers make that step onto the ladder.”