25,000 first-time buyers are predicted to miss the 31 March stamp duty deadline, according to property website Rightmove.

This is based on homes priced up to £625,000, which is the current maximum stamp duty threshold to be considered a first-time buyer.

In total, an estimated nearly 74,000 home-movers in England are currently going through the legal completion process and will just miss the deadline and complete in April.

The net effect for this group, who a reset to complete just one month later, is a collective £142 million in additional stamp duty tax, compared with what they would have paid if they’d been able to complete in March. For first-time buyers, it is a total of £34 million extra in costs.

Rightmove’s Property Market Expert Colleen Babcock said:

‘We expect a rush to complete close to 31 March as first-time buyers and home-movers try to avoid paying extra in tax. Our numbers show how there is a relatively small, but disproportionately impacted group of first-time buyers who will be caught out by the changing thresholds, highlighting some disparities in the way the current system works.

‘We think it would make sense to grant a short extension to the deadline and help these movers, rather than have them face higher charges when they complete later in April.’

Internet link: Rightmove website