Overview
- From April 2028, owners of properties valued above £2 million will pay an annual surcharge of £2,500 to £7,500 on top of council tax, uprated by CPI and routed to central government.
- Fewer than 1% of homes are expected to be liable, with the Office for Budget Responsibility projecting about £0.4 billion of revenue in 2029–30.
- The Valuation Office will identify liable properties using 2026 prices, with five‑year revaluations; ministers plan consultations on including trusts and companies and on deferral options such as payment on sale.
- The OBR and IFS expect the charge to be fully capitalised into prices, with analysts estimating reductions of tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds for multi‑million‑pound homes and price bunching below band thresholds.
- Impact will be concentrated in London and the South East, with the IFS noting that a quarter of affected properties are in Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Camden, and warning of temporary transaction slowdowns near band boundaries due to valuation uncertainty.