With time almost up for the stamp duty holiday deadline, the Chancellor is reported to be considering a six-week extension to the scheme. This limited extension appears to be the preferred option over a longer-term extension as Rishi Sunak is keen to recoup tax receipts to begin to rebuild funds released in various pandemic tax breaks.

The current deadline is set for Wednesday 31st March, and if such an extension were to be put in place, this would move the deadline to the middle of May.

Critics of the requests for an extension suggest that whether it is six weeks or six months it is simply moving the same issue further down the line and at some point, there will be those who will fall either side of whenever the deadline is set. The same critics argue for a full review of Stamp Duty rather than short term tweaks.

It is likely that any decision would be announced within the Budget which is scheduled for Wednesday 3rd March, however, it would not be the first time in the last 12 months that the government opts for a last-minute u-turn on a policy should no announcement be made during the budget speech.