Guides
Mansion tax guides
Short answers to the questions owners and their advisers ask most, each with the detail behind it. Every guide is dated and checked against the government's Budget documents and consultation response.
- What is the High Value Council Tax Surcharge?
A proposed yearly charge of £2,500 to £7,500 on homes in England worth £2m or more at 2026 values, from April 2028.
- When does the mansion tax start?
April 2028, with bills in March 2028. The value that counts is the 2026 value.
- What if my home is worth just over £2m?
You pay £2,500 a year while a home just under pays nothing. That is where the value most needs checking.
- Does the mansion tax replace council tax?
No. Owners pay it on top of council tax, which carries on as now.
- Do trusts and companies pay?
Yes. Trustees and companies are proposed to be liable, and companies could not defer.
- Do overseas owners pay?
Yes. The charge follows the property. The Budget ruled out an extra charge for non-residents.
- Second homes and let property
The owner pays, so landlords and second home owners are in scope.
- What if house prices fall?
Bands are proposed to be fixed on 2026 values until the 2033 revaluation.
- Worked examples
Four illustrative homes, and where a review would and would not help.
Reference pages
- Am I affected?The two tests, who pays for each kind of owner, and the homes proposed to be exempt.
- Bands and thresholdsThe four bands, the cost of each step and what they add up to over 20 years.
- How homes will be valuedThe Valuation Office's method, its data and where it tends to go wrong.
- Challenges and appealsThe draft list, the 8-month window and the Valuation Tribunal.
- Can't afford the charge?Who could defer, and what it would cost.
- LondonWhere two thirds of England's £2m+ sales happen.
Last checked against the government's Budget documents and consultation response on 30 October 2026. The surcharge is being legislated in the Finance Bill 2026-27 and is not yet law. Some detail is still to come in regulations.
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