Then the band decision matters more to you than to almost anyone. A home the Valuation Office values at £1.99m pays nothing. At £2m it pays £2,500 a year from April 2028, rising with inflation every year. If your home is anywhere near the line, the value is worth checking.
The cliff edge in numbers
There is no taper. The charge goes from nothing to £2,500 a year at exactly £2m. Over time that adds up:
- First year
- £2,500
- Year 20 at 5% inflation
- £6,317 a year
- 20 years at 5% inflation
- About £82,700
- At the 2% inflation target
- About £60,700
That is for a home that stays just over the line. The 2033 revaluation could move it either way.
Why values near the line are uncertain
Most £2m homes are not identical to anything else. The Valuation Office will use models trained on sales, and the nearer a home sits to £2m, the more a small difference in floor area, condition or choice of comparable changes the answer. Two careful valuers can reach figures 5% or 10% apart for the same individual house. Near £2m, 5% is £100,000, and that is the difference between paying and not paying.
What to gather now
- A measured floor plan, with a note of how the area was measured and which rooms have low ceilings or limited use.
- Photographs showing the home's condition in 2026, including anything that needs work.
- Any survey, defect or damp report, and details of problems such as subsidence, noise or access.
- Your lease, if the home is leasehold, and the number of years left in 2026.
- Sales of similar homes nearby around 2026, with their sizes where you can find them.
- Records of works since the home was last sold, and anything that has been removed or changed.
When the draft list arrives
In late 2027 you will be able to see whether the Valuation Office has put your home in scope and ask it to correct factual errors. If it has placed a home you believe is under £2m into the first band, the evidence above is what a challenge will rest on. See challenges and appeals.
The same logic applies higher up
The steps at £2.5m, £3.5m and £5m are smaller than the first, at £1,000, £1,500 and £2,500 a year, but they work the same way. A home at £3.55m and one at £3.45m sit either side of a £1,500 line. See bands and thresholds.
Also asked
Is there any relief for homes just over £2m?
None has been proposed. The charge is a flat £2,500 a year for any home valued between £2m and £2.5m, so a home at £2.01m pays the same as one at £2.49m.
Should I get my own valuation?
If your home is close to £2m, evidence about its value in 2026 is worth having. It does not have to be a formal valuation to be useful, but it does need to be about 2026, not today.
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.