"With almost £25bn paid in Stamp Duty over the last decade, London’s homebuyers have shouldered an extraordinary tax burden, and nowhere is this more evident than in the prime market"
- Damien Jefferies - Jefferies London
New research from Jefferies London shows that homebuyers across the capital have collectively paid almost £25bn (£24.9bn) in Stamp Duty over the last ten years, with buyers in prime central London contributing the largest share by a considerable margin. The findings come as many await news of potential Stamp Duty reform in the upcoming Autumn Budget.
Jefferies London analysed every primary residential transaction recorded by the Land Registry across London over the past decade, calculating the Stamp Duty paid by buyers in each borough. The research highlights the substantial sums handed to the Treasury simply for purchasing property in the capital.
Across London as a whole, homebuyers have paid £24.9bn in Stamp Duty over the last ten years, not including tax on second home purchases. Westminster tops the list, with buyers paying £3.30bn in SDLT over the period. Kensington and Chelsea follows closely at £2.99bn, cementing the two boroughs’ status as the most heavily taxed in the country for property purchases.
Other top contributors include:
Wandsworth: £1.86bn in SDLT over ten years
Camden: £1.39bn
Hammersmith and Fulham: £1.17bn
Richmond upon Thames: £1.14bn
Barnet: £1.08bn
Even outside the prime core, London boroughs have contributed significant sums. Barking and Dagenham generated £84.7m in SDLT, while the City of London contributed £112m since 2015.
However, it is clear that prime central London buyers have been hit hardest. Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea alone account for more than £6.2bn of the total, reflecting how successive SDLT reforms disproportionately penalised high-value and additional property purchases.
“With almost £25bn paid in Stamp Duty over the last decade, London’s homebuyers have shouldered an extraordinary tax burden, and nowhere is this more evident than in the prime market." comments Damien Jeffries, founder of Jefferies London.
He added, "Buyers in boroughs such as Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea have contributed vast sums simply for the right to purchase a home, and this has had a long-term dampening effect on activity at the top of the market. With so much discussion ahead of the Autumn Budget, many will be hoping for a more balanced approach that encourages movement rather than penalises it. A reformed system that supports transactions, instead of restricting them, would be a welcome shift for both buyers and sellers across the capital.”
