Property professionals have welcomed Conservative plans to cut taxes on homes and property transactions.
Kemi Badenoch used her keynote conference speech to pledge major changes to inheritance tax (IHT) and stamp duty.
A future Conservative government would exempt family homes from IHT. Couples could also leave an additional £1m tax-free.
Badenoch went further and set out an ambition to abolish inheritance tax altogether.
“My ambition is to abolish inheritance tax altogether, as soon as we can afford it,” she said.
The Conservatives estimate the proposed IHT reforms would cost around £6bn a year.
‘The detail will matter’
Propertymark welcomed the proposals but warned against shifting the tax burden elsewhere.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “A strong, stable and accessible housing market is vital.”
He said households continued to face pressure from affordability, supply and the cost of moving home.
Douglas described the Conservatives’ commitment to scrap stamp duty on primary homes as “significant”.
“Stamp Duty remains a major cost for those looking to move,” he said.
Douglas warned that the government would need to consider any replacement tax carefully.
He said ministers should work with the property industry to ensure reform supports transactions rather than moves the tax burden elsewhere.
Douglas also backed the proposed inheritance tax changes.
“The commitment to remove inheritance tax from the family home will also be welcomed by homeowners and families planning for the future,” he said.
But he added: “The detail will matter.”
‘Take a knife to stamp duty’
Trevor Abrahmsohn, managing director of Glentree International, gave the proposals a more enthusiastic reception.
“Hallelujah, no inheritance tax on the family home must be a good thing,” he said.
Abrahmsohn described IHT as a “spiteful and pernicious double-taxation penalty”.
He also backed the pledge to scrap stamp duty on primary homes.
“Taking a knife to stamp duty would be very welcome,” he said.
Abrahmsohn argued that high stamp duty rates had held back the housing market.
“It traps capital in property, which would otherwise find its way into the economy by way of retail spending and the like,” he said.
However, he also questioned how the Conservatives would fund their tax cuts.
He said he supported the measures, providing the party “properly costed” them and avoided giving bond markets “the jitters”.
Family homes escape IHT
Current rules give individuals a £325,000 inheritance tax threshold.
A further residence allowance can increase the tax-free threshold when someone leaves a qualifying home to direct descendants.
Spouses and civil partners can transfer unused allowances to each other.
Badenoch told delegates: “The next Conservative government will legislate so nobody will ever pay inheritance tax on their family home.”
She added: “On top of that, couples would be able to leave an additional £1m tax-free.”
The Conservatives claim their reforms would more than halve the number of families paying IHT.
Stamp duty next in line
The announcement forms part of a broader Conservative push to cut property taxes.
The party has already committed to scrapping stamp duty on primary homes. It also wants to cut planning and development costs.
Its plans include replacing Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy with a single development charge.
The Conservatives claim their wider reforms could cut the cost of a new-build home by as much as £50,000.
For agents, the announcements put property taxation firmly back on the political agenda.
The industry broadly supports lower property taxes. But the reaction also highlights two crucial questions: how will the reforms work, and who will pay for them?
