A special stamp duty land tax (SDLT) hike for non-UK residents comes into force from 1 April and could catch out some overseas based property purchasers. Natasha Heron, tax manager at Hillier Hopkins, explains
Rishi Sunak announced in the Spring Budget 2020 the implementation of a new 2% stamp duty land tax (SDLT) surcharge for non-UK residents purchasing UK residential property in England and Northern Ireland. That charge will take affect from 1 April 2021.
This 2% surcharge is applied on top of residential rates and the 3% surcharge which are already applicable to UK-resident purchasers.
The new SDLT rates remain subject to approval by UK parliament but they are expected to be as shown in the table below:
| Residential property, lease premium or transfer value | New SDLT rate for non-UK residents | Current SDLT rate for UK residents |
| Up to £125,000 | 2% | 0% |
| From £125,001 to £250,000 | 4% | 2% |
| From £250,001 to £925,000 | 7% | 5% |
| From £925,001 to £1.5m | 12% | 10% |
| Over £1.5m | 14% | 12% |
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