Chancellor extends 1st-time buyer Stamp Duty scheme in 2018 budget

The exemptions on Stamp Duty Land Tax for first-time buyers are to be extended. Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced that first-time buyers purchasing a shared ownership home valued up to £500,000 won't pay the property tax.

In his Budget announcement to the House of Commons on Monday, Mr Hammond also confirmed that the changes will be retrospective.

That means any first-time buyer who has purchased a home in the 11 months since the last Budget, which brought in the exemptions, will be able to claim a rebate on the stamp duty they paid.

Mr Hammond said 121,500 FTBs have benefited from the stamp duty exemption so far. And in 2018, first-time buyer numbers have reached an 11-year high.

He said: "Today I am extending this relief to all first-time buyers of shared ownership properties valued at up to £500,000, and I will make this relief retrospective so that any first-time buyer who has made such a purchase since the last Budget will benefit."

Other measures announced to help the housing market include a further £500 million for the housing infrastructure fund, which was set up after the 2017 Budget. The extra funds are expected to help create up to 650,000 homes. Strategic partnerships with nine housing associations will deliver up to 13,000 homes across England.

Meanwhile, up to £1 billion of British bank guarantees will be used to support small and medium-sized builders return to the housing market.

And the Chancellor confirmed that the rules around converting commercial premises into homes will be simplified, a move widely predicted before Monday's Budget.

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