The average stamp duty charge paid by a first-time buyer relief claimant was £4,073 among those who had liable transactions in 2024/25, new Freedom of Information (FOI) data has shown.

The FOI data, obtained by money app Plum, revealed that 36,999 transactions benefitting from first-time buyer relief were subject to stamp duty in that tax year.

These included 24,955 transactions where the tax was £2,000 or more, and 13,529 where the tax was £5,000 or more. There were also 1,285 relief claims where first-time buyers were charged with the maximum tax of £10,000.

Plum highlighted that first-time buyer stamp duty bills are now set to soar even further, as new relief thresholds which took effect in April last year begin to bite.

The FOI data obtained by Plum relates to FTBs qualifying for first-time buyer relief in 2024/25. Purchases above the nil rate band of £425,000 were subject to reduced stamp duty of 5% with standard rates applying to homes with a purchase price of more than £625,000.

However, from 1 April 2025, the nil-rate threshold was cut from £425,000 to £300,000, with relief lost entirely for properties with a value of more than £500,000. These changes have dragged thousands of homebuyers, who previously could have avoided stamp duty, into HMRC’s net, with areas such as London and the South East disproportionately affected because of their elevated house prices.

Personal finance expert at Plum, Rajan Lakhani, commented: “Stamp duty has long been one of the most hated taxes there is, but the pain faced by first-time buyers is particularly acute given the financial challenges they already face in raising a deposit.

“These figures make you wonder how many are being shut out of the housing market completely because they simply can’t afford the stamp duty.

“Worse still, the new stamp duty relief thresholds mean tax bills are only going to grow bigger in the years ahead as rising house prices mean more and more first-time buyers lose entitlements to stamp duty relief altogether.”

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