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Burnham's Proportional Property Tax: would you pay more or less?

A proposal to scrap council tax and stamp duty in England and replace them with a single flat annual charge on what your home is worth.

Status: Proposal — not law Region: England Backed by: Andy Burnham / Fairer Share Updated: June 2026

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What's being proposed

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has publicly backed replacing two of England's main property taxes — council tax and stamp duty land tax — with a single Proportional Property Tax (PPT). Instead of council tax bands frozen to 1991 valuations and a lump-sum stamp duty bill when you buy, owners would pay a flat percentage of their home's current value every year. The specific version he has endorsed comes from the campaign group Fairer Share, which sets that rate at 0.48%.

Where it comes from

Council tax is widely criticised as out of date and regressive: the bands still rest on what homes were worth in 1991, so an owner of a modest house can pay a larger share of its value than the owner of a mansion. Stamp duty, meanwhile, is disliked by many economists for taxing people simply for moving, which can discourage downsizing and gum up the market. Fairer Share has promoted the PPT as a single fix for both, and Burnham has cited it approvingly. He has separately spoken in favour of a land value tax — which would tax only the land beneath a property rather than the whole thing — a related but distinct idea that isn't the plan modelled here.

How it would work

  • A flat 0.48% of the property's value, charged every year, replacing both council tax and stamp duty on a main home.
  • A higher 0.96% rate on second homes, empty homes, and homes owned by non-residents.
  • Stamp duty abolished for main homes, but kept for second-home and non-resident purchases.
  • The charge falls on the owner, not the tenant.
  • For existing owners, any increase over today's bill would be capped at £1,200 a year during a transition — a cap that ends when the home is next sold.
  • Owners who would struggle to pay (for example asset-rich but cash-poor pensioners) could defer the charge until the property is sold.
  • Fairer Share's own modelling claims roughly 77% of households would pay less, with the savings concentrated outside London and the South East.
Because the charge tracks current value, the basic rule of thumb is simple: the lower your home's value relative to your current council tax, the more likely you are to save — and the higher its value, the more likely you are to pay more. The calculator below works out exactly where you'd land.

The case for and against

Supporters argue

  • Most households — especially in the Midlands, the North and Wales — would pay less than under council tax.
  • Scrapping stamp duty removes a penalty on moving, potentially helping first-time buyers and downsizers and freeing up under-used homes.
  • A charge tied to current values is fairer than bands frozen at 1991 prices.
  • It shifts more of the burden onto very high-value property — much of it in London — that is lightly taxed today.

Critics argue

  • Owners of expensive homes, concentrated in London and the South East, would often pay considerably more.
  • It needs accurate, up-to-date valuations of every home — administratively hard and open to dispute.
  • Someone who recently paid a big stamp-duty bill could feel double-charged (the plan offers a transitional credit, not modelled here).
  • Turning an occasional tax into an annual one is politically difficult, and can feel like a tax on simply owning a home.
Interactive calculator

Model your own bill

Compare your current council tax and stamp duty against the proposed 0.48% / 0.96% charge. Today's figures use real England rules — 2025/26 stamp duty bands, your own council tax, and the high-value surcharge legislated to begin in 2028 on homes worth £2m+. The proposed figures use the rates above.

A what-if, not a forecast. Nothing here is law. The figures use the real proposed rates; today's column uses current England rules. Results are illustrative and not financial advice.

Your property

Property type
Sets which proportional-property-tax rate applies, and whether stamp duty is kept.
Your situation
Buying includes the one-off stamp duty. “Already own it” drops stamp duty and, for a main home, applies the £1,200 transitional cap.

The proposed rate

These are fixed in the proposal, not free choices. 0.48% is the rate that raises the same revenue as today's council tax and stamp duty combined; the higher band is exactly double.

Charged on the full property value. Switch band with the “Property type” control above.

The “per year” totals are the steady-state annual position. Stamp duty (England 2025/26 bands) is a one-off paid only on purchase, shown at the foot of each column. The 2028 high-value surcharge (£2,500–£7,500 on homes £2m+) is an annual charge once in force. Under the Proportional Property Tax, stamp duty is abolished on main homes but kept for second homes and non-resident buyers, and existing owners can cap any annual increase at £1,200 above what they currently pay (council tax plus any surcharge); the cap is lost on sale. Payment deferral and a credit for stamp duty recently paid are not modelled. Not financial advice.

Sources & further reading

  • Fairer Share — the Proportional Property Tax campaign and its modelling.
  • Rathbones — overview of Andy Burnham's tax plans.
  • GOV.UK — current Stamp Duty Land Tax rates and rules.

Figures on this page are illustrative and based on reported proposals; rates and rules may change. This is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice.