The study revealed that homeowners were being forced to increase their mortgages by an average of £3,770 to help fund Stamp Duty bills.
Two-thirds of people who have bought houses in the past three years have had to pay Stamp Duty, currently levied at 1 per cent for homes valued above £125,000, rising to 3 per cent for those over £250,000 and 4 per cent for those over £500,000.
28 per cent of people who have purchased a house in the past three years have had to borrow more to help pay for Stamp Duty. mform.co.uk warned that paying for Stamp Duty through home loans would add significantly to the overall cost of the mortgage.
An extra £3,770 on an average £150,000 mortgage at, a typical, six per cent will add £24.58 to the monthly cost and over 25 years cost a total of £7,374.
Eamonn Rice, chief executive of mform.co.uk, said: “On the average house the Stamp Duty bill will be at least £1,700 to £2,000, but for more expensive homes the bill rises steeply. With all the other costs associated with home buying it is no surprise that people are using their mortgage to help pay the tax.”
He added: “Lenders have urged the government to increase Stamp Duty thresholds in line with house price inflation. Research shows that if thresholds had increased in line with house price inflation, the £250,000 band should be £650,000 while the £500,000 band should be £1.3 million.”
Rachel Loynes, adviser at Carterbar Ltd, said: “If people cannot afford to pay Stamp Duty on their homes and have to add it to their mortgage, they should not be buying a property in my opinion. Most high-street lenders will generally not allow you to add the tax to the loan.”
