London homebuyers have paid almost £25billion in stamp duty in last decade

Homebuyers in London have paid a collective £25 billion in stamp duty over the past decade, according to a new analysis.

As Rachel Reeves contemplates stamp duty reform in next week’s Budget the data shows how buyers in the capital already shoulder the lion’s share of the tax.

The research from property broker Jefferies London analysed every primary residential transaction recorded by the Land Registry across London over the last decade. It showed that across the capital as a whole, homebuyers have forked out £24.9 billion in stamp duty over the last 10 years. This figure does not include the tax paid on second home purchases.

Official HMRC figures show that London contributed £4.55 billion in residential SDLT tax receipts in the 2023/24 financial year, 41% of the total for England and Northern Ireland. If the south east is included the proportion rises to 62%.

Westminster tops the list, with homebuyers paying £3.3 billion in SDLT since 2015.

Kensington and Chelsea follows closely behind at £2.99 billion. The two boroughs are the most heavily taxed areas in the entire country when it comes to property purchases -  largely because they have the highest property prices.

Wandsworth ranks third with £1.86 billion collected over ten years, followed by Camden (£1.39billion) and Hammersmith and Fulham (£1.17billion).

Richmond upon Thames also sits firmly in the top tier with £1.14 billion, while Barnet has generated £1.08 billion in SDLT receipts.

Across the wider capital, virtually every London borough has contributed hundreds of millions in SDLT since 2015. Homebuyers in the lowest-taxed boroughs - Barking and Dagenham - have paid just £84.7 million.

Successive Chancellors have raised stamp duty rates on property. As recently at 1997 there was only a 1% flat rate on all property purchases over £60,000. But by last year the top rate was 12% on primary homes worth over £1.5 million, and 17% on second homes or investment properties.

Damien Jefferies, founder of Jefferies London, said: “With almost £25 billion paid in Stamp Duty over the last decade, London’s homebuyers have shouldered an extraordinary tax burden, and nowhere is this more evident than in the prime market.

“Buyers in boroughs such as Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea have contributed vast sums simply for the right to purchase a home, and this has had a long-term dampening effect on activity at the top of the market.

“With so much discussion ahead of the Autumn Budget, many will be hoping for a more balanced approach that encourages movement rather than penalises it.

“A reformed system that supports transactions, instead of restricting them, would be a welcome shift for both buyers and sellers across the capital.”