England £2m+ home surcharge: HVCTS from 2028 explained
You’ll be hearing a new term in local tax. On 28 November 2025 the government set out the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS). It is due to start in April 2028 for homes in England valued at £2 million or more. We’ll clear up what changes and what stays the same.
Think of HVCTS as a separate, annual charge paid by the owner, in addition to their normal Council Tax bill. It sits alongside the existing system, rather than replacing it.
It is not linked to Council Tax bands. Those bands are based on what a property would have sold for on 1 April 1991, and labels like F, G and H will not be used to decide HVCTS liability.
To work out who is in scope, the Valuation Office Agency will run a targeted valuation in 2026. If your home is assessed at £2 million or above, it will be placed into one of four HVCTS bands for charging. This process is entirely separate from Council Tax banding.
Those four HVCTS bands are set out in the Treasury factsheet: £2.0–£2.5m pays £2,500 a year; £2.5–£3.5m pays £3,500; £3.5–£5m pays £5,000; over £5m pays £7,500. Charges are planned to rise each year with CPI from 2029–30, and valuations will be refreshed every five years.
Owners, not occupiers, are liable. Local councils will collect the surcharge for central government and will be funded for the extra admin. Ministers also say a targeted support scheme will be designed for those who may struggle to pay, with details consulted on.
Why introduce it at all? The factsheet points to fairness at the top end. It notes the average band D bill in England is about £2,280, which it says is roughly £250 more than a £10 million home in Westminster currently pays on band H. HVCTS is meant to narrow that gap.
What happens next? A public consultation on design is planned for early 2026, with the surcharge applying from April 2028. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects around £0.4bn in 2029–30, and ministers say fewer than one per cent of English homes will be in scope.
If you think your home might be near the £2 million mark, remember the assessment will be based on its value in 2026. You do not need to take action now; the government says the VOA will carry out the targeted valuation and explain next steps during the consultation.
If you rent, you will not be billed for HVCTS because it is an owner charge. And because HVCTS is separate, any decision about it will not change your existing Council Tax band.
Is this UK-wide? No. HVCTS applies to residential property in England. For context, Council Tax banding in England is still tied to 1 April 1991 values, while Wales uses 1 April 2003.
The short version is this: HVCTS is a new, separate annual charge for £2m+ homes in England from 2028. It does not revalue everyone’s Council Tax. Keep an eye on the early-2026 consultation and the official factsheet for updates you can trust.