The total figure for 2022 was £3bn more than the stamp duty bill paid in 2021. Last year also saw eight of the top 10 record breaking months for stamp duty intake and by October, receipts had passed the previous year, analysis from Coventry Building Society of HMRC figures revealed.

For the tax year between April to December 2022, stamp duty intake reached £15.7bn, which was £1.8bn higher than the same period a year before. This was a 13% annual increase. 

Receipts dipped to £1.4bn in December, a £3.2m reduction on the same month a year earlier, which was attributed to the new stamp duty threshold introduced by former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng during the mini Budget. 

This threshold means the tax only applies to properties with a value over £250,000 until 31 March 2025. 

Jonathan Stinton, head of mortgage relations at Coventry Building Society, said: “Last year people paid more tax buying their homes than ever before. The new thresholds introduced in September mean homebuyers will get a bit of welcome relief for the next couple of years, but a long-term plan needs to be established.

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“The Chancellor has already hinted that it’s going to be a bland Budget this spring, with no tax cuts expected to be announced, but discussions around stamp duty shouldn’t be taken off the table. We’ve already seen that the fairly blunt instrument of a stamp duty holiday in 2020 and 2021 didn’t stifle tax revenues.”

Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “At first glance, stamp duty receipts also look extremely healthy, but a closer inspection shows signs the market is running out of steam. Government moves to cut the amount of stamp duty paid gave the market a bit of a boost just before Christmas but prior to that, the trend was down as the market started to struggle amid cost-of-living concerns which were then exacerbated by the fallout of the mini Budget.  

“Some buyers may have been coaxed back out into the market since, but the gloomy economic outlook means many people are shelving their house buying plans for now. With the time lag between choosing to buy a house and stamp duty paid being around three to four months, the likelihood is that we will see receipts continue to cool.” 

IHT set for record intake 

Inheritance Tax (IHT) in the same period amounted to £5.3bn, which was £700m higher than 2021 or a 16% rise. 

Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group, said the Treasury looked set to collect a record amount from IHT this financial year, with predictions that £8bn would be paid each year by 2027/2028. 

Lowe said: “The combination of the freeze on the nil-rate band and rising property prices continues to funnel more Inheritance Tax into Government coffers, especially in regions where house prices are far higher than the rest of the country.  

“Further significant house price rises through the pandemic are likely to have tipped many more estates over the Inheritance Tax threshold, perhaps without the homeowners even realising.  

“It is yet another reminder for people of the importance of regularly assessing the value of their estate which includes getting an up-to-date valuation of any owned property.” 

Overall, HMRC received £553.2bn in taxes between April and December, a £48bn jump on the year before.