Summary of the 2017 Budget

Stamp duty and housing

Stamp duty to be abolished immediately for first-time buyers purchasing properties worth up to £300,000

To help those in London and other expensive areas, the first £300,000 of the cost of a £500,000 purchase by all first-time buyers will be exempt from stamp duty, with the remaining £200,000 incurring 5%.

95% of all first-time buyers will benefit, with 80% not paying stamp duty

Reduction will apply immediately in England, Wales and Northern Ireland although the Welsh government will have to decide whether to continue it when stamp duty is devolved in April 2018

It will not apply in Scotland unless Scottish government decides to follow suit

£44bn in overall government support for housing to meet target of building 300,000 new homes a year by the middle of the next decade

Councils given powers to charge 100% council tax premium on empty properties

Compulsory purchase of land banked by developers for financial reasons

£400m to regenerate housing estates and £1.1bn to unlock strategic sites for development

Review into delays in developments given planning permission being taken forward

For further information regarding Stamp Duty and Land Tax please visit www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax

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