The Treasury announced last year that it would temporarily raise the stamp duty threshold from £125,000 to £500,000 for property sales in England and Northern Ireland.

But many people have been left scrambling to complete their transactions with just five weeks to go until the March 31 deadline, worried that if they do not, they could be left with a £15,000 tax bill.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will use his Budget next week to move the deadline to the end of June, reports The Times.

If the Government decides to extend the deadline by six weeks, between 120,000 and 160,000 additional property transactions in England could potentially benefit from the tax saving, according to property website Rightmove’s estimates.