The property firm said that Scottish Government revenues from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) increased by 17.6% over the previous 12 months.

This is £102.8m higher than the previous period between March 2023 and February 2024 when £583.7m was raised. Five months of the last twelve had the highest ever monthly figures for LBTT with July 2024 recording £71.2m alone.

Of the £686.5m taxes raised £205.6m is from the additional dwelling supplement (ADS) which is charged on second homes and properties purchased by landlords and property investors to rent. This is 29.9% of the total raised and is £43.8m higher than the previous 12-month period.

Almost all the residential taxes raised arose from properties sold for more than £325,001. The 18,700 transactions above this threshold collected £399.6m which is 83.1% of the total £480.9m raised in LBTT (this is the figure for residential sales with the ADS figures removed). This means that the average tax levied per transaction was £21,368.

David Alexander, CEO of DJ Alexander Scotland, said: “Scottish homebuyers are now contributing over £13m a week to the Scottish Government through property taxes.

“The LBTT income from the last 12 months equates to £13.2m every seven days with the bulk of this tax falling on people buying properties valued at over £325,001 which is where the 10% rate begins in Scotland.

“The usual explanation is that those with the broadest shoulders should pay the greatest amount but clearly these taxes are targeting many Scots who would not regard themselves as rich. Yet those earning an annual income of just under £29,000 and living in a property worth just over £325,000 are defined as the Scots with the broadest shoulders. Given that the average income in Scotland is £38,000 this means that it is ordinary people who are regarded as appropriate targets for higher taxation.”