It has just been announced today, by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, that the threshold for stamp duty land tax will temporarily be raised to £500,000 from today until 31 March 2021.

This means that when buying a property up to and including £499,999 you will not pay any stamp duty, regardless of whether you are a first time buyer or not.

There are no changes to properties above £500,000 – you would still pay stamp duty of any portion above the new temporary threshold.

This is great news for buy to let investors and it will hopefully mean a surge in investment into the sector and a boost to the rebound in the housing market.

Overall, it is projected that 89% of sales will be exempt with an overall saving of £3.8 billion.