Many first-time buyers do not understand Stamp Duty and how relief of the tax would apply to them.

Almost a third (31%) don’t know if the Stamp Duty exemption will benefit them when they buy their first home.

Furthermore, a fifth (22%) have not changed their minds on the price of the house they want to buy, in light of the Stamp Duty changes – because they do not know the impact the new rules will have on their potential property.

When asked how much first-time buyers thought they would save because of the exemption, more than one in ten (13%) stating that they thought it would be over £5,000 – which is impossible under the new rules.

On top of this almost two in five (38%) said that they didn’t know how much they would save if they bought their first home now.

However, 62% of first-time buyers believed that Stamp Duty should be abolished altogether for first-time buyers.

The remaining 38% thought that the threshold for the exemption should rise in line with house prices.

The research was done by online broker L&C Mortgages among 242 first-time buyers.

The exemption, announced in the 2017 Autumn Budget, means that first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland pay no Stamp Duty on homes costing up to £300,000.

For properties costing up to £500,000, first-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty on the first £300,000.

For homes costing over £500,000 first-time buyers pay the standard rates of Stamp Duty.