---
title: "Your Home After the Budget: Stamp Duty, Council Tax and the Rumours to Ignore"
description: Stamp duty and council tax reform are ruled out on 28th October. Why gilt yields and Bank Rate matter more for your mortgage, and which rumours to ignore.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-25T14:47:02.786Z
updated: 2026-10-25T14:49:41.130Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/budget-2026-mortgages-stamp-duty-rumours
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-13657362.webp
categories: Real Estate
content_type: Analysis
region: United Kingdom
publication: Sovereign Magazine
access: members
---

Most of the speculation about your home and Wednesday's Budget concerns two taxes, stamp duty and council tax, that the Prime Minister has already said he will not overhaul this time. The figure more likely to change what you pay for a home this winter is set in the bond market, and John Healey's Budget on 28th October is its next big test.

## Stamp duty stays as it is on Wednesday

Asked in July whether he would change or scrap stamp duty, Andy Burnham told reporters it would not be happening, and on 27th July he rejected reports that the two taxes would be combined into one yearly charge on property. In England and Northern Ireland, the rates are unchanged: nothing on the first £125,000, 2% from £125,000 to £250,000, 5% from £250,000 to £925,000, 10% from £925,000 to £1.5 million and 12% on anything higher. First-time buyers pay no stamp duty below £300,000 and 5% between £300,000 and £500,000. If you are buying a second home or a buy-to-let property, you pay an extra 5% on every band. Scotland and Wales set their own rates.

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