Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) receipts shot up from £8,670m to £14,100m between 2020 and 2022 amidst Britain’s property market boom.

The government released its official Stamp Duty Land Tax statistics for the 2021/22 financial year, finding that payments for the levy - commonly charged on the purchase of a property - have soared by 63% compared to the previous year.

This exponential rise was the result of Britain’s housing market boom, as prices soared to record highs throughout 2022. However, according to research from stamp duty specialists, Cornerstone Tax, 13% of Brits say that as a homebuyer, they feel that they were forced to pay too much stamp duty in error due to their solicitor.

Group Chairman of the firm, David Hannah, highlights that during a cost-of-living crisis, it is vital that both prospective homeowners and commercial landlords are not overcharged at a time when affordability levels are at their worst.

The biggest increases were seen in the residential sector, rising by 69% between financial year 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022, from £6,010m to £10,170m. For many, stamp duty is an often overlooked or misunderstood topic, and serving as testament to this, data from Cornerstone Tax even found 14% of Brits have been forced to take out short-term loans or emergency credit to cover the cost of unexpected stamp duty payments.