Homebuyers paid £995m in Stamp Duty in February, up 11% on January’s £899m, according to analysis by Coventry Building Society of HM Revenue & Customs data.

Annual receipts have also climbed, reaching £15.4bn last year – an 18% increase on 2024 – driven largely by the drop in the nil-rate threshold from £250,000 to £125,000 last April.

Since the threshold change, buyers have paid around £14bn in stamp duty.

Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, said: “For many buyers, stamp duty has become the hidden cost of moving home. Just when people think they’ve saved enough for a deposit, they realise they’re facing a tax bill which could run into thousands.

“The problem is the system hasn’t kept pace with house prices. The £125,000 threshold might have seemed appropriate a decade ago, but the average house price has climbed nearly £100k since then – meaning more people are pulled into a higher tax band by default rather than design.”

Stinton argues that stamp duty needs reform to boost activity in the housing market, warning that the current system could continue to slow market turnover.

He added: “Reforming Stamp Duty would give buyers meaningful support at a time when many are already stretched. Updating the thresholds would prevent buyers from being pushed into higher tax bands and allow more of their budget to go toward deposits and essential moving costs. It’s a practical change that would make taking the next step on the property ladder more achievable when pressures across the market continue to build.”

Stinton’s views are supported by others in the industry, including Bob Singh, founder at Uxbridge-based Chess Mortgages.

“The government has to act soon by abolishing stamp duty to breathe life back into the property market before we enter a recession,” he said.

The Conservative Party has launched a campaign to abolish stamp duty on main homes, identifying it as a potential vote-winner.