The long promised ‘painful budget was finally delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves who has already been nicknamed Rachel Thieves in some quarters, perhaps by Expat Property Investors?

**Someone’s go to pay to repair those potholes…**

Not by me personally however, as I’m quite philosophical in principle about paying taxes to fund the NHS and fix the potholes in time for my next visit back to the UK!

I pay far less tax here in Hong Kong than my compatriots in the UK so it would be churlish to moan about having my cake and being able to eat it.

However, the changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (I don’t know why, but I like using its full title!) will have a significant impact on expat property investing.

Interestingly, most of the commentators coming out saying it’s not that bad really, tend to have a vested interest. Many of them are angling for you to buy property through them, or sign up for one of their courses.

The truth is that it is pretty bad, which is potentially good, if that makes sense.

It doesn’t? Well read on and all will be revealed!

**The much anticipated ‘Painful Budget aims to raise £40 Billion**

But first, let’s look at the example we present in Episode 180 of Expat Property Story in which Jake Barber of SJB Global takes us through the repercussions of the Autumn 2024 UK budget.

This was the big one for us Expat Property Investors.

The headline news is that The SDLT surcharge for second homes, buy to lets and company purchases increased from 3% to 5% with immediate effect.

The second change was that, from April 1st 2025, stamp duty costs would revert to their pre-2022 levels.

So this means that as an expat buying an additional home, from April 2025, you will pay:

Property Value:

Up to £125,000: 7%

£125,001 – £250,000: 9%

£250,001 - £925,000: 12%

£925,001 - £1.5 million 17%

Over £1.5 million: 19%

So, for a £300, 000 property bought as an investment property (ie not your principal residence) from overseas, from April 1 2025, you will pay:

£125K at 7% = £8,750

£125K at 9% = £11,250

£50,000 at 12% = £6,000

Total Stamp Duty: £26,000

And to put that into context, before the budget you would have paid £17,500.

And before you get into a frenzy trying to beat the April 2025 deadline, if you buy that same 300K property before April 1st, you’ll still have to pay £23,500.

This is because the real increase at that purchase price is in the additional 2% increase from 3% to 5% for buying an additional home.

There’s no doubt about it, this makes stacking deals even harder.

Several expats in our community (Have you joined our WhatsApp group yet?) have expressed concern about the performance of their portfolios in the wake of higher interest rates.

So the Stamp Duty hike is definitely bad news. Or is it?

For sure, many investors will abandon property as their investment vehicle, which will lead to less competition for the rest of us: those brave enough to be greedy when others are fearful.

Those with the cojones to observe the masses and do the opposite.

With a reduction in supply in the Private Rental Sector, but with demand still high (21 applicants for every PRS home), rents look sure to rise.

And when rents rise, Capital Growth is not far behind as Akhil Patel points out in Episode 118

Jake Barber advises during the budget episode:

"Navigate these changes wisely, and you may find that reduced competition works in your favour,"

Check out Episode 180 for more details on the impact of the 2024 Autumn Budget, with a particular focus on expats.

Maybe you are brave, but you don’t have the bandwidth to invest in property right now? Get in touch to discuss.

UK Stamp Duty Hikes: Bad News That’s Potentially Good?

The long promised ‘painful budget was finally delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves who has already been nicknamed Rachel Thieves in some quarters, perhaps by Expat Property Investors?

Commercial Muliple Occupancy

Expat Property Story