The cost of stamp duty has increased by 490% for the average homebuyer in the last 25 years, a new study has found.

Research by Benham and Reeves revealed that now the stamp duty holiday has finished, the average homebuyer in England will again pay the government a bill of £3,548 on the current average house price to move home.

As a result of a house price boom spurred by the stamp duty holiday itself, the lettings and estate agent revealed that this is a tax bill 44% higher than the average stamp duty paid prior to its introduction.

In the last 25 years, the research by Benham and Reeves found that the cost of stamp duty has never been higher. When removing both unique instances of the recent stamp duty holiday, as well as the reprieve granted in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis, the average cost of stamp duty has increased by an average 8.4% every year since 1997.

The cost of £3,548 now faced by the average homebuyer is currently sitting 490% higher than the £601 paid back in 1997.

Benham and Reeves director, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “With the latest generation of homebuyers enjoying a taste of stamp duty free property purchases there are renewed calls for its complete abolition but, as always, these will continue to go unheard.

“Over the last 25 years, the government has become very good at fuelling buyer demand while failing to address the housing crisis and building more homes. This has worked very nicely for them where an increased cost in stamp duty is concerned and their free slice of the pie, cut from the savings of struggling homebuyers, has continued to climb with absolutely no justification whatsoever.”

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