Scotland has introduced two new council bands for high-value properties in the country’s Budget announcement.
From 1 April 2028, homes valued at between £1 million and £2 million will fall under the new Band I, while homes over £2 million will fall under Band J. How much is charged with these two bands will be down to individual councils, though some have already labelled this change as a ‘mansion tax’.
David Alexander, the chief executive officer of broker DJ Alexander Scotland, said: “There is to be a version of the mansion tax in Scotland with two new rates of council tax bands for properties worth more than £1m starting in 2028.
“As with the Westminster proposal the issue will be over who values the properties and, given the relatively low number of properties of this valuation in Scotland, whether this is really about revenue raising or political point scoring.”
Scotland also raised basic (20%) and intermediate (21%) income tax thresholds by 7.4%, meaning that from 2026-27 more earnings will be taxed at lower rates.
John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords, said: “Scotland’s landlords will be disappointed by this budget, in particular by the finance secretary’s refusal to rule out the 2p increase on income tax gained from property that we’ve seen elsewhere in the UK.
“That this tax may come into effect in 2027-28, subject to a legislative consent motion, will cause further uncertainty within Scotland’s private rented sector.”
Over the next four years, Scotland is investing £4.9 billion in 36,000 affordable homes.
The government said it would work with partners like the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) to accelerate housing investment.
Alexander added: “While the promise of record levels of investment for affordable housing… over the next four years is an improvement it does little to address the long-term stagnation in the building of homes for the social housing sector.
“Given that the housing emergency in Scotland will be two years old in May when the Scottish elections are held this was an opportunity to offer a coherent, well-constructed strategy to deal with the shortage of homes.
“But with no additional help for housebuilders (where newbuild starts are also at a decade low level) or for the private rented sector (PRS) which is an integral part of resolving the housing emergency this is missed opportunity.
“What has been offered here is more of the same short-termism with little concern for where the housing sector will be in five years-time.”