HMRC rakes it in as stamp duty receipts surge to record high

Figures just released by HM Revenue & Customs show the Treasury enjoying a bumper year for stamp duty, with record receipts - and that’s despite the SDLT holiday.

Stamp duty income for the government in the year to the end of February was £16.9 billion - this is no less than £6.1 billion higher than last year and tops the previous total for the 2017/18 tax year of £16.43 billion.

To cap it all for HMRC and the government - on the day Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils his spring statement with possible other tax changes - the Treasury also enjoyed record inheritance tax receipts of £5.5 billion just for the period April 2021 to February 2022, which is slightly less than a full year.

Income tax and national insurance receipts also continued to grow as the number of paid employees increased by 4.8 per cent over the period.

Helen Morrissey of business consultancy Hargreaves Lansdown says: “It’s been a bumper year for HMRC with inheritance tax and stamp duty surging to all-time highs this month while the growing number of people returning to the workforce means income tax and national insurance receipts continue to grow.

“This data shows the heavy toll the pandemic has laid on society with inheritance tax receipts hitting all-time highs – they could hit as much as £6 billion by the end of the tax year. This is largely because of an increased number of wealth transfers throughout the year. 

“While we hope the number of transfers will drop as the pandemic claims fewer lives, we will still see more estates become liable over the coming years as the freezing of inheritance tax thresholds continues to bite.”

Morrissey describes stamp duty as “a stellar performer” for HMRC.