Residential property receipts that attracted stamp duty jumped 16% in the last three months of last year compared to the previous quarter, HMRC data shows.
The department adds that these receipts were 27% higher than the same period a year ago.
It points out that residential property transactions that attracted stamp duty rose 9% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter, HMRC data shows.
These transactions were 20% higher than the same period a year ago.
Hargreaves Lansdown head of personal finance says: “Stamp duty clobbered buyers as they rushed to complete sales before any potential bad news in the autumn Budget.
“Property investors got bad news by the bucketload during the announcement, which means stamp duty bills are only going to get bigger.
The stamp duty holiday runs into a brick wall at the end of March, when buyers face paying thousands of pounds more on a purchase.
“Property investors, meanwhile, face a double-whammy, after October’s Budget hiked the stamp duty surcharge from 3% to 5% overnight.”
In April, the current stamp duty threshold of £250,000 will halve to its previous level of £125,000, after Chancellor Rachel Reeves decided not to extend this temporary relief in her October Budget.
For first-time buyers, the stamp duty threshold falls to £300,000 from £425,000, while the maximum purchase price FTBs relief can be claimed on will fall to £500,000 from the current level of £625,000.
The expected busy period will also coincide with industrial action from 4,000 Land Registry staff across 14 offices in England and Wales.
Coventry Building Society calculated last week homebuyers paid a total of £13bn in stamp duty last year.
