Around 25,000 first-time buyers could miss the upcoming stamp duty deadline on 31 March and will complete in April, research suggests.
According to research from Rightmove, in total there are around 74,000 homemovers in England going through the legal completion process who will just miss the 31 March deadline and complete in April. This is equal to around £142m in extra stamp duty payments.
The report analysed the total number of homes going through the legal completion process (marked sold subject to contract) and the date they are likely to complete. Rightmove’s figures indicate that the average time to complete a home purchase is 163 days.
The first-time buyer figure is estimated by homes with two bedrooms or fewer, which tends to be a typical first-time buyer property, priced up to £625,000, which is the current maximum stamp duty threshold for a first-time buyer.
For first-time buyers, the extra stamp duty to be paid by those missing the March deadline is estimated at around £34m.
First-time buyers of properties between £500,001 and £625,000 will face around £11,250 in added costs, while most homemovers will face an additional charge of £2,500 from 1 April.
How the housing landscape is set to shift
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
| Property price | Current stamp duty charge | Stamp duty from 1 Apr 2025 | Additional charges (£) | Current stamp duty charge | Stamp duty from 1 Apr 2025 | Additional charges (£) |
| Non-first-time buyer | First-time buyer | |||||
| £125,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| £250,000 | £0 | £2,500 | £2,500 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| £425,000 | £8,750 | £11,250 | £2,500 | £0 | £6,250 | £6,250 |
| £500,000 | £12,500 | £15,000 | £2,500 | £3,750 | £10,000 | £6,250 |
| £625,000 | £18,750 | £21,250 | £2,500 | £10,000 | £21,250 | £11,250 |
| £750,000 | £25,000 | £27,500 | £2,500 | £25,000 | £27,500 | £2,500 |
| £925,000 | £33,750 | £36,250 | £2,500 | £33,750 | £36,250 | £2,500 |
| £1m | £41,250 | £43,750 | £2,500 | £41,250 | £43,750 | £2,500 |
The South East will be most impacted as it has the highest number of movers set to just miss the deadline.
Rightmove is calling for a short extension to the stamp duty deadline to help buyers who will just miss out, adding that there may be a “conveyancing log-jam” as 31 March approaches.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property market expert, said: “We expect a rush to complete close to March 31st as first-time buyers and homemovers try to avoid paying extra in tax. Our numbers show how there is a relatively small but disproportionately impacted group of first-time buyers who will be caught out by the changing thresholds, highlighting some disparities in the way the current system works.
“With 74,000 people only just set to miss the deadline, in part because of the extremely lengthy completion times in England, we think it would make sense to grant a short extension to the deadline and help these movers, rather than have them face higher charges when they complete later in April.”
