UK house prices
The average stamp duty for London after government reforms is £15,000

The cost of stamp duty has fallen by more than half since the government's reforms made at last year's Autumn Statement, according to research from Post Office Money.

The Cost of Buying & Moving study found that the stamp duty for the average home has fallen to £3,653.

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That cost today would have been £8,192 under the previously used calculation, based on a percentage of the overall property price. The study predicts the cost of stamp duty on average will rise to £5,750 by 2020.

The study found that despite the reforms, home buyers in London still face an eye-watering average bill of £14,920.

There is still a debate about how to continue helping people on to the property ladder, with some even proposing to scrap the charge completely. Post Office Money also warned that people are not fully prepared for the costs they will incur when buying a house.

John Willcock, head of mortgages at Post Office Money said: "It is worrying that so few people fully understand stamp duty but this is also understandable – it's a tax that has had many revisions over the years and many people will be more inclined to focus on the large deposit which they have mostly spent years saving for.

Almost half (49%) of all prospective home buyers admitted that they were not aware of the current rules concerning stamp duty. One in four prospective home buyers (26%) has not budgeted for stamp duty costs in their plans to purchase a home.

Regional stamp duty costs, before and after reforms

Stamp Duty Under the old system (Mar 2015) Under the new system (Mar 2015)
London £14,952 £14,920
South East £10,170 £6,950
East £8,747 £4,578
South West £7,502 £2,504
West Midlands £2,016 £1,531
Scotland £2,069 £1,638
East Midlands £1,903 £1,306
Yorkshire & Humber £1,767 £1,033
North West £1,766 £1,033
Wales £1,734 £968
North East £1,569 £637
Northern Ireland £1,453 £405
UK £8,192 £3,653