What does the budget mean to Crawley homeowners?

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt abolished multiple dwelling stamp duty relief and the furnished holidays regime and introduced a cut to 4% cut to Capital Gains Tax.

What does “multiple dwelling stamp duty relief” mean?

This tax relief reduces the stamp duty on the purchase of property when more than one “dwelling” forms part of a single purchase.

What is the furnished holiday lettings (FHL) regime?  

This gave tax reliefs for costs incurred furnishing holiday lets which are available for holidays for more than 210 days a year, and which are let for at least half that time.

What is capital gains tax?

Capital gains tax is the tax you pay on the profit you receive when selling an asset (such as property) that’s increased in value. It is specifically the profit you make that’s taxed, the money you receive.

In the 2024 budget, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reduced the higher rate of property capital gains tax from 28% to 24%.

What does this mean for Crawley homeowners and buyers?

In regard to abolishing the multiple dwelling stamp duty relief, it means there is no longer a relief on stamp duty for anyone who wants to purchase more than one dwelling as part of one transaction.

Removing this tax break effectively means it’s more costly than it was before and is aimed at stopping people take advantage it. If you’re looking to do this, you should seek professional advice from a conveyancing solicitor or a property tax accountant when buying more than one dwelling in one transaction.

The decision to cut the furnished holidays letting regime aims to level the playing field between buy-to-let purchases and those let bought for holiday lets.

Both of these decisions by the Chancellor are aimed at trying to ensure there are more properties available for local homebuyers as demand for housing is currently far higher than supply. As Crawley is near Gatwick with many lets available for tourists staying overnight, there could be a small knock-on effect.

The aim of the capital gains tax reduction is to encourage landlords who are thinking about selling properties to sell and increase the amount of transactions in the property market.

This should be good news for first time buyers in Crawley if more properties become available. It’s worth keeping an eye on the housing market to see what happens next.

If anyone would like any further information, contact us on 01293 582335 or email info@inspireestates.co.uk