Some £1.31bn was paid in stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in November, relatively unchanged from the £1.35bn intake in October.
According to figures from HMRC, this was lower than the £923m paid in stamp duty during the same month last year. Similar to October, the department said the higher level of stamp duty receipts was due to increased transactions and policy changes.
In April next year, the stamp duty threshold will fall and make more homebuyers liable to the tax.
The threshold is set to be reduced from £250,000 to £125,000 for homemovers and from £425,000 to £300,000 for first-time buyers.
For the year to November, £11.5bn has been paid towards stamp duty, compared to £10.6bn over the same period in 2023.
Since April, the start of the financial year, stamp duty receipts have amounted to £8.9bn, compared to £7.9bn last year.
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Inheritance tax raises £5.7bn
HMRC’s figures also show that inheritance tax (IHT) receipts hit £5.7bn for the period from April to November 2024.
This is £600m higher than the same eight months last year and continues the upward trajectory of the past two decades.
In the last full tax year, IHT raised £7.499bn. Currently, just one in 20 estates are liable for IHT, but government estimates suggest this will increase to one in 10 estates by 2030.
IHT receipts are likely to carry on rising due to a number of changes announced in the Autumn Budget.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an extension to the freeze on IHT thresholds, which have now been frozen until 2030.
Agricultural relief and business property relief have been reformed, meaning that from April 2026, the first £1m of qualifying combined assets will have no IHT at all, but for assets over £1m, a 50% relief will apply, at an effective rate of 20%.
Qualifying AIM shares will no longer have full exemption from IHT; instead, from 2026, they will have an IHT rate of 20% if they are held for two years.
From 6 April 2027, inherited pensions could be subject to IHT in addition to income tax levied on the recipient, meaning passed-down pensions could be taxed at an effective rate of up to 67%, although this is subject to consultation.
Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, said: “Inheritance tax continues to be the gift that keeps on giving, at least as far as the government is concerned.
“Yet again, HMRC is increasing the amount that it’s milking from the estates of the recently deceased. Decades of rising property prices have been a major driver, pushing estates above frozen nil-rate bands, and from April 2027, pension pots will fall into the taxman’s net as well, meaning even more families are dragged into paying this most hated of taxes.
“Nor is that it. Farmers are already in uproar about the new tractor tax, and removing IHT relief on family businesses could mean the final nail in the coffin for businesses that would otherwise have been passed on through many generations. These changes will harm many, many businesses and do not reflect the government’s objectives to get the economy moving.”
Jonathan Halberda, specialist financial adviser at Wesleyan Financial Services, said: “Another month, another increase in the government’s IHT receipts. This was entirely predictable given that the £325,000 threshold has been frozen until 2030, which will inevitably drag more estates into the IHT net.
“The New Year will also bring some extra clarity on the exemption that means pension funds can be passed on to beneficiaries after death without paying IHT.
“In the last Budget, the Chancellor announced that this would be closed from April 2027, which she estimated would impact an extra 10,500 estates. It’s not exactly clear how this would be implemented, and a consultation is currently taking place, which closes in January.
“More transparency will support more effective estate planning, but in the meantime, it is sensible to seek out expert financial advice to help formulate a tailored plan that’s right for you and your family and [that] takes into account the measures announced in the Budget.”
Other tax receipt figures from HMRC show that Brits paid £294.4bn in income tax, capital gains and National Insurance between April and October 2024 – up £6.8bn from the same period last year.
Some of this article was first published on Mortgage Solutions‘ sister site, YourMoney.com. Read: Inheritance tax raises £5.7bn in eight months
