Homebuyers will soon have to pay stamp duty on properties over £125,000 once the waiver is lifted at the end of the year.

Property buyers are advised to place offers now as the stamp duty holiday is due to end at the close of this year, 31 December 2009.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is charged on UK property transactions. There is a difference in the amount payable depending on whether the property is residential or non-residential.

Currently, residential properties worth between £175,000 and £250,000 pay a duty of 1% of the property’s value; between £250,000 and £500,000 pay 3%; and over £500,000 pay a tax of 4%.

The stamp duty waiver for residential properties worth £175,000 and under was first introduced in September 2008, and in April UK Chancellor Alistair Darling extended the waiver until the end of this year in an effort to encourage new buyers onto the market.

This means that any purchase completed before the deadline will be exempt from stamp duty, saving buyers up to £1,750 (1%). From 2010, stamp duty will once again apply to all properties above £125,000.

David Hollingworth, Head of Communications at L&C Mortgages, said: “As house purchases can take months to complete it’s make your mind up time for those considering buying a property.

“With house prices now holding up more strongly and in some cases rising, the stamp duty holiday will prove to act as a greater incentive as the deadline approaches.”