These have included replacing stamp duty and council tax with an annual property tax, increasing capital gains tax, introducing National Insurance for landlords and widening the mansion tax net.<\/p>\n
However, some of these proposals have now been ruled out, and others are looking increasingly unlikely.<\/p>\n
So why is the government reconsidering its plans? Chancellor John Healey is trying to balance raising sufficient revenue to meet the government’s spending requirements against introducing any tax increases that could discourage investment and damage economic confidence and growth.<\/p>\n
And those concerns have been fuelled by the negative reactions to Rachel Reeves’s previous Budgets, which increased the UK’s tax burden by more than \u00a360bn.<\/p>\n
In particular, her increases in employers’ National Insurance contributions and minimum wages for younger workers have been widely blamed for rising youth unemployment.<\/p>\n
If, as some believe, the government is considering calling a general election next year, they want to avoid making similarly controversial decisions.<\/p>\n
So which property tax changes are still likely to be announced on 28th October?<\/p>\n
One of the more recent U-turns has been the lowering of the mansion tax threshold from \u00a32m to \u00a31.5m, which would have almost doubled the number of properties affected, from approximately 127,000 to 243,000.<\/p>\n
Healey has reportedly ruled out the change following opposition from Labour MPs, particularly in London, who raised concerns that it would bring ordinary three-bedroom family homes in expensive areas into the mansion tax bracket. They also pointed out that many of those homeowners would be asset-rich but cash-poor.<\/p>\n
The tax will still be introduced in April 2028, but with the original \u00a32 million threshold.<\/p>\n
Likelihood of lower threshold: 0\/5 \u2013 ruled out.<\/strong><\/p>\n One significant proposal that is still under serious consideration involves changes to the tax status of holiday lets.<\/p>\n Most holiday lets currently pay business rates rather than council tax, with many smaller operators qualifying for relief and paying nothing.<\/p>\n Some second-home owners, though, are suspected of using business rates relief to reduce their tax liabilities rather than operating genuine holiday businesses.<\/p>\n The Treasury is rumoured to be considering treating holiday lets as second homes. It is not yet clear whether this would mean they become liable for standard council tax or the additional second-home premiums.<\/p>\n In England, councils can charge a premium of up to 100% on top of the standard rate. The Professional Association of Self-Caterers estimates that this could cost the average holiday-let owner \u00a31,000\u2013\u00a33,000 annually, and cause significant damage to the sector.<\/p>\n Ministers have confirmed that the tax treatment is under review but have not given any further details.<\/p>\n Likelihood of tax changes: 3\/5.<\/strong><\/p>\n Likelihood of widespread second-home premiums: 2\/5.<\/strong><\/p>\n Another headline-grabbing proposal that has been ruled out is replacing stamp duty and council tax with an annual property or land value tax.<\/p>\n Burnham had previously expressed support for the concept but rejected it in July.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because a fundamental overhaul would require the costly and time-consuming revaluation of millions of properties and a long delay before any additional tax revenue came on stream.<\/p>\n If Burnham gets a second term, though, the idea may well reappear.<\/p>\n Likelihood: 0\/5 \u2013 ruled out for this Budget.<\/strong><\/p>\n There has been widespread speculation that capital gains tax (CGT) could be aligned to income tax, increasing the residential property rate for higher-rate taxpayers from 24% to 40%.<\/p>\n Recent reports, however, suggest Treasury officials are heeding warnings that substantial CGT increases could result in a lower tax take.<\/p>\n Unlike income tax, CGT relies on investors choosing to realise gains, and higher taxes might discourage new investment altogether.<\/p>\n To avoid paying the higher tax, landlords can simply delay selling their properties until rates become more favourable.<\/p>\n The proposal, though, has not yet been officially ruled out.<\/p>\n Likelihood: 2\/5.<\/strong><\/p>\n Rental profits are treated as investment income rather than earnings from employment, so they do not normally attract National Insurance contributions.<\/p>\n The idea of extending National Insurance to include rental profits first appeared in the run-up to the 2025 Budget. An additional 8% charge was estimated to raise around \u00a32bn a year.<\/p>\n In the event, the government instead announced a two-percentage-point increase in income tax on rental profits.<\/p>\n The idea has now resurfaced, although the Treasury is said to be cautious about imposing further taxes on landlords.<\/p>\n Likelihood: 1\/5.<\/p>\n There is renewed pressure to reverse Rachel Reeves’s controversial inheritance tax changes for family farms that former Home Secretary Lord Blunkett has described as a “mistake.”<\/p>\n After widespread protests, Starmer’s government increased the threshold for full agricultural and business property relief from \u00a31m to \u00a32.5m.<\/p>\n Farming organisations are now calling for the tax to be scrapped altogether, arguing it discourages investment and threatens the future of family farms.<\/p>\n Likelihood of full reversal: 1\/5.<\/strong><\/p>\n One initiative that will definitely make the Budget is the new Your First Home scheme<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is designed to support first-time buyers purchasing new-build properties with deposits of just 2.5%, who will be backed by government equity loans of 20% of the purchase price.<\/p>\n The scheme should also provide a much-needed boost to housebuilders and have a positive knock-on effect on the rest of the housing market.<\/p>\n Likelihood of further details being announced: 5\/5 \u2013 confirmed.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that the government will need an additional \u00a335bn annually by 2030.<\/p>\n However, its latest forecasts offer the Chancellor some breathing space, with higher inflation expected to boost tax receipts as earnings rise.<\/p>\n But it is unlikely to cover all the government’s funding shortfalls, and substantial spending cuts are likely to prove politically difficult.<\/p>\n That leaves just smaller, targeted tax increases that could include property.<\/p>\n Whatever the Chancellor decides, though, he will need to convince financial markets that the government’s finances are under control or risk further increases in government borrowing costs, with potentially significant consequences for mortgage rates and the housing market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in the summer, there has been widespread speculation over what property taxes there might be in the Autumn Budget. These have included replacing stamp duty and council tax with an annual property tax, increasing capital gains tax, introducing National Insurance for landlords and widening the mansion tax net. However,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4233,"featured_media":20216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,179,4,26,765,59,6,766],"tags":[544],"class_list":["post-6108287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buy-to-let-landlords","category-expert-advice","category-investment","category-tax-mortgages-money","category-property-investment","category-trending-news","category-uk-housing-market","category-uk-rental-market","tag-property-tax"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6108287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6108287"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6108287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6108293,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6108287\/revisions\/6108293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6108287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6108287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6108287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Holiday-let tax changes<\/h2>\n
Stamp duty and council tax reform<\/h2>\n
Capital gains tax increases<\/h2>\n
National Insurance for landlords<\/h2>\n
Farm inheritance tax<\/h2>\n
Help to Buy<\/h2>\n
Where will the money come from?<\/h2>\n