Labour MPs warn mansion tax threshold cut to £1.5m would hit 271,000 homes and 'played badly on doorsteps'

From the Newshound archive · first published 27 September 2026 · last updated 28 September 2026.

Chancellor John Healey is considering whether to reduce the mansion tax threshold from £2m to £1.5m, a move that would more than double the number of properties liable for the levy to 271,000. Hackney South MP Meg Hillier told LBC the plans had "played badly on the doorsteps in London", warning that many buyers in the capital pay stamp duty of nearly £100,000 on such properties and have no greater income than homeowners elsewhere. The potential move has reportedly been described internally as a more "aggressive" approach to taxing wealth.

Reducing the threshold would, analysis suggests, draw in as many as one in four detached London homes.

Estate agent director Mark Pollack warned that many owners of £1.5m homes are "only just staying above the surface" as higher interest rates and energy bills squeeze their finances.