MPs call for stamp duty reform: what it means for you

Two reports landed within a month of each other this summer, and both point in the same direction: stamp duty, in its current form, is holding the housing market back. On 9th June 2026, a cross-party committee of MPs called on the government to reform the tax as part of a package to help first-time buyers. Then, on 6th July 2026, research from estate agency Jackson-Stops suggested that scrapping stamp duty entirely could bring more than 300,000 extra homes onto the market within a year. Neither report changes what you pay today, but together they add real weight to a debate the government will find harder to brush aside. Here is what is actually being proposed, and what it means for anyone buying, selling or letting a home in England right now.

What the housing committee actually recommended

The report comes from the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, and its central recommendation is that the government launch a formal consultation, by the end of 2026, to examine alternatives to stamp duty land tax (SDLT). The committee stopped short of naming a preferred option, but set out several possibilities: replacing SDLT with a different property tax altogether, reducing rates to encourage more transactions, restructuring the price bands so they reflect local markets rather than a single national scale, and revising the reliefs and exemptions currently on offer.

The committee also wants any stamp duty reform to happen alongside a wider overhaul of council tax, something it has called for in a previous report, and it separately recommended giving councils clearer powers to bring long-term empty homes back into use. It is worth being clear about what this report is and is not. A select committee scrutinises policy and makes recommendations, but it is the government that decides whether and how to act on them, and that process typically takes months rather than weeks. Nothing here is confirmed policy.

The case for change: movers who feel stuck

The second report adds a market angle to the political one. Jackson-Stops' Housing Mobility Report estimated that removing stamp duty costs could bring more than 300,000 owner-occupied homes onto the market across England within a year, rising to more than 750,000 over three years. The figures come from surveying owner-occupiers who said stamp duty had caused them to delay, postpone or abandon a move in the past five years, and who said they would likely go ahead within a set timeframe if that cost barrier disappeared.

It is not the only factor at play. Of those whose plans had stalled, 28 percent named stamp duty as the main barrier, while 42 percent pointed to economic uncertainty and 29 percent to mortgage rates. Jackson-Stops chairman Nick Leeming put it simply: stamp duty remains a meaningful barrier for some would-be movers, but any serious discussion about improving housing mobility needs to look at both the transaction process itself and the upfront costs people face when deciding whether to move.

What stamp duty actually costs today

With reform still a long way from confirmed, it is worth being clear on what you would actually pay right now. The standard residential rates in England, unchanged since 1st April 2025, are:

1. 0% on the portion up to £125,000
2. 2% on the portion from £125,001 to £250,000
3. 5% on the portion from £250,001 to £925,000
4. 10% on the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million
5. 12% on anything above £1.5 million

First-time buyers get relief on the first £300,000, then pay 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. Once the purchase price passes £500,000, the relief disappears entirely and standard rates apply from the first pound. We cover this in more detail, alongside the rest of the buying journey, in our guide to buying your first home.

Buyers of an additional property, including second homes and buy-to-lets, pay a further 5 percentage points on top of every band, taking the effective rates to 5%, 7%, 10%, 15% and 17%. That surcharge is exactly the kind of relief the committee flagged as ripe for review, so landlords have as much reason to watch this space as owner-occupiers do.

What this means for buyers and sellers right now

In practical terms: nothing has changed yet, and a consultation is a first step, not a policy. Previous stamp duty changes have shown how much even the prospect of a shift can distort behaviour, with buyers rushing to complete before a deadline or holding off in the hope of a better deal later. If you are planning to move in the coming months, the safest approach is to budget on today's rates rather than pause a decision on the chance of a reform that may not arrive for years, or may not help your particular purchase when it does. Our step by step guide to conveyancing walks through exactly where stamp duty fits into the process, so there are no surprises at completion.

If stamp duty costs are part of what is holding back your own move, you are not alone, and it is worth remembering that a sale can often move faster than the reform debate will. If you are weighing up selling, our sell your home service is built around a flat fee, so you know your costs upfront alongside whatever stamp duty applies on your next purchase.

What this means for landlords

Both reports are framed around owner-occupiers, but do not assume buy-to-let is out of scope. The committee's call to revisit reliefs and exemptions is broad enough to capture the additional property surcharge, and any restructuring of the bands would flow through to landlord purchases too. For now, the surcharge stands as it is, so factor the full 5 percentage point uplift into any acquisition you are planning rather than pricing on the hope of a discount that has not been proposed. If you are weighing up whether a purchase still stacks up once stamp duty, mortgage costs and compliance are accounted for, getting the letting side right matters just as much as the tax bill. Our tenant find service and fully managed service are both flat fee, so the numbers are easy to plan around from day one.

Should you wait for stamp duty to change?

Probably not. Even in the best case for reform-minded buyers, a consultation launching by the end of 2026 would likely be followed by a further period of analysis and, at the earliest, an announcement tied to a future Budget. Governments have also learned to introduce stamp duty changes with little or no advance warning, precisely to stop the market gaming the transition, so there is no guarantee a waiting buyer would even get the benefit of a favourable window. The more reliable approach is to use an up to date stamp duty calculator for your specific purchase, factor the cost into your offer or negotiation, and treat any future reform as a bonus rather than a plan.

The bottom line

Stamp duty reform has genuine political momentum behind it for the first time in years, but momentum and legislation are two different things. Nothing about what you owe on a purchase has changed, and nothing is likely to change imminently. The sensible move is to plan your next purchase or sale around today's rules, keep an eye on the consultation as it develops, and not let a report, however well-argued, delay a decision that makes sense for you now.