The government has announced that a public consultation will begin in the next few weeks on details relating to the so-called mansion tax.

In last month’s Budget it announced that from April 2028 there will be the new tax, formally called a High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) on owners of residential property in England worth £2m or more.

The consultation on how it will work will be held in early 2026.

The surcharge will not be determined by current Council Tax bands, which are based on property values from 1991. For example, bands F, G and H will not be used to determine eligibility for the surcharge.

The Valuation Office Agency will instead carry out a separate, targeted valuation exercise to determine a property’s value. This is likely to involve automated valuation models and not in-person visits and valuations.

If a property is identified as being worth £2m or more, it will then be placed into one of four HVCTS bands.

A statement from the Valuation Office Agency says: “This exercise is separate from, and without reference to, existing Council Tax bands. Council Tax bands will not be used to determine eligibility for the surcharge and will have no bearing on a property’s HVCTS band. As this charge is separate from Council Tax, current Council Tax bands will not be affected and will still apply. Equally, a change in Council Tax band will not affect eligibility for the surcharge.”