As seen in The Negotiator, we bring you the most up to date news from the Budget 2025:
The Chancellor has revealed two additional property taxes for the housing market within her Autumn Budget statement. This includes a ‘super council tax’ for homes worth more than £2 million, which some have called a mansion tax, alongside higher taxes for landlords earning money from properties. HMRC says the mansion tax will mean a ‘£2 million mansion doesn’t pay less tax than a family home’. This tax is expected to raise a further £400 million for Government coffers, while an extra 2% tax on property, dividend and savings income will raise some £2.1 billion.
| High Value Council Tax Surcharge Charging Structure |
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| Threshold (£m) | Rate (£) | | £2.0-2.5 | £2,500 | | £2.5-3.5 | £3,500 | | £3.5-5.0 | £5,000 | | £5+ | £7,500 |
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From April 2028, owners of properties identified as being valued at over £2 million will be liable for a recurring annual charge which will be additional to existing Council Tax liability. Properties above the £2 million threshold will be placed into bands (see right) based on their property value. Charges will increase in line with CPI inflation each year from 2029-30 onwards.
This will be bad news for prime estate agencies, who already face a tough year as Government measures to reform ‘non-dom’ tax rules have seen many foreign buyers rent rather than buy particularly in London.
Unhappy
Landlords including the NRLA are also unhappy that they face more taxes following increased recent increases to Stamp Duty, and the end of tax relief on mortgage interest payments for buy-to-let mortgages. Saying she wanted the ‘wealthiest to contribute the most’ and that ‘those with the broadest shoulders should pay their fair share’ she said a landlord earning £25,000 a year from property paid £1,200 less in tax than a comparable tenant on the same income. Reeves said this imbalance was down to the different National Insurance rates paid by landlords and tenants but, rather than fix that problem, has raised the basic rate of income tax for landlords by 2%. From April 2027, the property basic rate will be 22%, the property higher rate will be 42% and the property additional rate will be 47%.
Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, CEO of Alto said “This Budget signals a meaningful shift in how high-value homes will be taxed, and while the changes don’t come into force until 2028, the impact on confidence will be felt much sooner”. Agents operating in the £2m-plus bracket should expect increased questions from clients around valuations, pricing and future costs, especially as council-tax revaluations begin to bite. For the wider sector, the message is the same: clarity and preparation matter. Landlords and homeowners will look to agents for guidance, and the agencies that use data well, to model scenarios, track valuations and explain what the changes mean in real terms, will be the ones who build trust. Today reinforces the need for modern tools that help agents give clearer, faster answers. It’s how the best agencies will stay ahead.”