Head of our Agriculture and Rural Land team, Hazel Eccles, briefly summarises the announcements that may affect property owners
Today the Chancellor has announced several important changes in the Budget from a property perspective.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
Taking effect from midnight tonight, the Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings surcharge applicable to residential properties, will increase from 3% to 5%.
Likewise, the single rate of SDLT that is charged on the purchase of dwellings by corporate bodies costing more than £500,000 will also increase from 15% to 17%.
Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR)
A significant change to APR and BPR was announced today, which will potentially have major consequences for landowners.
Relief of up to 100% is currently available on qualifying business and agricultural assets. However, taking effect from April 2026, for combined agricultural and business assets, the first £1m will continue to attract 100% relief, but for assets over £1m, inheritance tax now will apply with a 50% relief.
This is in addition to existing nil-rate bands and exemptions.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
It was announced that for disposals made on or after 30 October 2024, the lower and higher main rates of Capital Gains Tax will increase to 18% and 24% respectively. Crucially, for owners of second properties, however, the rates on residential properties remain unchanged (also at 18%/ 24%).
From 6 April 2025, the rate for Business Asset Disposal Relief and Investors’ Relief will increase to 14%, and from 6 April 2026, it will increase again to match the lower main rate at 18%.
The lifetime limit for Investors’ Relief will be reduced to £1 million for all qualifying disposals made on or after 30 October 2024.
Business Rates
From April 2025, private schools in England will no longer be eligible for charitable rate relief.
For 2025-26, eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England will receive 40% relief on their business rates liability. Such properties will be eligible to receive support up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and, from 2026-27, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower multipliers for such properties.
For 2025-26, the small business multiplier in England will be frozen at 49.9p. The standard multiplier will be uprated by the September 2024 CPI rate to 55.5p.
Our team of expert Real Estate lawyers and Residential Property lawyers are on hand if you would like to discuss any of the above.
