According to the Halifax house price index the price of the average UK home rose 1.1 % In March.

This was the eighth rise in the last nine months and the March rises pushed prices up 9.1 per cent since hitting their lowest point in April 2009.

Martin Ellis, housing economist, said the rate of growth was still slowing overall after the return of the £125,000 Stamp Duty threshold and poor weather at the start of the year.

He said: “There are signs that an increase in the number of properties available for sale is beginning to reduce the imbalance between supply and demand. This should help to contain the upward pressure on house prices.”

The average house price is now £168,521.

In addition, Bank of England industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase – a leading indicator of completed house sales – fell by a seasonally adjusted two per cent between January and February following a much larger decline of 17 per cent in the previous month.

However, the temporary increase in the lowest stamp duty threshold announced in last month’s Budget will mean that most first-time buyers do not pay the tax.

At £250,000, more than nine in ten first-time buyers would have been exempt from paying stamp duty in 2009 compared with just over one in two if the lowest threshold had been £125,000. The southern
regions of England will benefit most. Around three-quarters of first-time buyers in Greater London and the South East will be removed from the stamp duty tax net as a result of increasing the threshold from £125,000 to £250,000.

As you will be aware the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has published his 2010 Budget. Below you will find a summary of the main announcements.

Change to Personal Allowance

No changes to basic and higher rates, however from April 2010 there will be an additional rate band of tax. In April 2009 Budget the Government announced that it would be introducing a new 50% rate of tax on income above £150,000 from April 2010.

In April 2009 Budget the Government announced that with effect from 6th April 2010 individuals receiving an income of more than £100,000 per year would face a cut in their Personal Allowance. This would reduce by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000.

This was restated in the March 2010 Budget.

Inheritance Tax

The nil rate band of Inheritance Tax will be frozen at £325,000 until 2014/2015.

Stamp Duty Allowance

For first time buyers Stamp Duty Allowance will double from £125,000 to £250,000 (from midnight on 24th March).

This is anticipated to be funded by a new 5% band of tax being introduced in the 2011/12 tax year on properties sold for £1,000,000 +.

Capital Gains Tax

The current CGT rate remains unchanged. However, Entrepreneurs’ Relief for CGT will be extended from £1m to the first £2m of qualifying gains made over a lifetime. This takes effect from April 2010.

Annual ISA limit

As announced earlier, for savers, from April 2010 the annual ISA limit will rise from £7,200 to £10,200. Future ISA limits will be indexed by RPI.

Winter Fuel Payments

The Government will guarantee payments for another year – this will be at least £250 for pensioners (£400 for those over-80′s).

Business Rates

Business rates will be cut for one year from October for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises).

Tax credit

Individuals over the age of 60 will now be eligible for Working Tax Credit provided they work for at least 16 hours a week.

National Insurance

In the March 2010 Budget it was restated that employee, employer and self-employed rates of National Insurance contributions (NICs) will increase by 0.5% from April 2011 in addition to the 0.5% increase announced in 2008. However the level at which people start to pay NICs will increase in April 2011 by £570 above the level previously announced.

Personal pensions tax relief

In their April 2009 Budget, the Government announced that with effect from 6th April 2011, tax relief on pension contributions would be restricted for those with gross income in excess of £150,000. These are referred to as the ‘permanent changes’.

The Act also included ‘anti-forestalling restrictions’ to prevent higher earners from paying unusually large pension contribution to take advantage of current tax benefits prior to the permanent changes coming into play in 2011.

Alongside the March 2010 Budget, the Government has outlined its plans for introducing these changes.

The £125,000 threshold for when you start to pay SDLT was introduced again on 1 January 2010. The previous starting rate was £175,000 – for purchases made between 3 September 2008 and 31 December 2009.

If you buy a property in the UK over a certain purchase price you have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). This is charged on all purchases of houses, flats and other land and buildings.

If you buy either a freehold or a leasehold property and the purchase price is more than £125,000, you pay SDLT of between one and four per cent of the whole purchase price. If the purchase price is £125,000 or less you don’t pay any SDLT.

See the table below for more detail.

SDLT Disadvantaged Areas Relief

If you buy property in an area designated by the government as ‘disadvantaged’ you may qualify for Disadvantaged Areas Relief. In this case the threshold for SDLT is £150,000.

Disadvantaged Areas Relief did not apply for residential property purchases between 3 September 2008 and 31 December 2009 inclusive. The threshold during that period was £175,000 which is higher than the previous Disadvantaged Areas Relief threshold. You can check the HMRC website to see if the property you are buying is in an area designated as disadvantaged.

Earlier this year the Government changed the nil band rate for Stamp Duty, for property purchased,  from £125,000 up to £175,000.

However, this is only a temporary measure with the concession expiring at the end of 2009. To qualify for the savings buyers must complete their property purchasers before 31 December 2009.

Purchasers can save between £1,250 and £1,750 if they complete before the deadline date. While a saving of between £1,250 and £1,750 may appear small, in the context of a much larger purchase price, this still represents a considerable saving for any purchaser.

With deals taking on average three months to complete, time is running out before the end of December and therefore it is up to all parts of the chain to ensure the process works as efficiently as possible.

Advisers at 1 STOP Financial Services are at the centre of the transaction and will help encourage all others be they the client, estate agent, lender or solicitor to work at their optimum level to ensure the purchaser can benefit from this Stamp Duty saving.

Potential purchasers who may be considering buying should be take into account the advantages of completing before the end of the year.