One of the major hikes in tax revenue came from property sales. Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) was up 20% to £1.05bn in February alone, compared with £781m in February 2024. So far this tax year property tax has soared to £12.4bn, up from £10.7bn the previous year.

The main reason for the huge rise in SDLT receipts is due to the end of the frozen stamp duty thresholds on 1 April, which are less than 10 days away. The level of sales has been driven by first time buyers trying to beat the end of the £250,000 tax-free SDLT threshold.

Matthew Todd, associate director at RSM said: ‘Looking at SDLT, in isolation, we have seen significant changes in the current tax year, including the abolition of multiple dwellings relief and an increase to the higher rate for additional dwellings or ‘second home’ surcharge from 3% to 5%.

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