From April 2028, owners of residential property in England worth £2 million or more will face a new High Value Council Tax Surcharge, an annual charge of between £2,500 and £7,500 depending on the property's value. The charge will be paid alongside council tax for those living in the property themselves.
Between 2028 and 2033, the charge will be based on property values as of April 2026. An estimated 150,000 homes are affected by the policy, which was announced in 2025 by Rachel Reeves, predecessor to John Healey as Chancellor.
How HMRC will assess property values
To establish property values, the Valuation Office, part of HMRC, will conduct a targeted valuation exercise to identify properties in scope of the charge, according to the GOV.UK website. The charge is collected by local authorities on the central Government's behalf, who also collect council tax.
Valuation Office guidance obtained under a Freedom of Information request confirmed that inspectors will be "collecting and recording the facts and information" through visits to people's homes and taking photos from public roads, The Times reports. HMRC does not require permission to take pictures of the exterior of a house from a public highway.
Valuation methods and inspections
Valuers may also use other material, including aerial images, online street-view imagery, survey information, property records, and details of alterations. They may carry out an in-person inspection, though prior notice is usually provided, and inspectors will not force entry. If the owner refuses, their name must be recorded and the inspector may escalate the matter to their manager.
Shadow housing secretary Katie Lam said: "Labour's tax inspectors are being given free rein to snoop on people's homes, photograph their gardens and feed that information into property valuations — all without people's permission."
Government response
A Government spokesman said: "HMRC's approach is well-established and already used to ensure fair and accurate banding for millions of homes for council tax. In most cases, properties are valued without the need for a visit.
"The surcharge addresses a longstanding unfairness where a Band D home in Darlington pays more in council tax than a £10m mansion in Mayfair and will apply to less than 1% of properties in England."
The tax authority told This is Money that "respect" would always be shown to homes being looked at, with a visit not required in most cases. It added that these efforts were to ensure homes are valued correctly so the right amount of tax is paid and collected, "no more, no less".
