Council tax premiums on second homes and holiday lets in 2026

Updated 27 September 2026. For an owner who uses a holiday home part of the year and lets it the rest, the council tax premium on second homes has become one of the biggest running costs, and it now varies enormously from one council to the next. Scotland removed its cap in April 2026, Wales has allowed up to 300% for some time, and England introduced its own premium in April 2025. Here is where things stand, and how a property can legitimately fall outside the charge.

What counts as a second home

For council tax, a second home is broadly a furnished dwelling that is nobody's main residence. Scotland adds a usage test: the property must be occupied for at least 25 days in a year to be a second home; below that it is treated as an empty home, which has its own rules. A holiday let that does not qualify for business rates is, in most cases, a second home in this sense, however many guests it receives.

England: up to double the bill since April 2025

English councils can charge up to twice the normal council tax on second homes, a power they have been able to use since 1 April 2025. Many coastal and rural councils have adopted it; Cornwall, for example, applies a 100% premium. The national rules provide several exceptions:

• an annex forming part of the main residence and used as part of it;
• a home provided by an employer and required for the job;
• a property with planning restrictions or other conditions that prevent it being used as a permanent residence, which covers many holiday-only cottages and lodges;
• for up to twelve months, a property being marketed for sale or to rent, or one where probate has recently been granted.

Wales: up to 300% since April 2022, council by council

Welsh councils may charge a premium of up to 300% on second homes — a ceiling raised from 100% with effect from 1 April 2022 by the Council Tax (Long-term Empty Dwellings and Dwellings Occupied Periodically) (Wales) Regulations 2022, and restated in the statute itself from 1 April 2026 — and each sets its own level. Properties whose planning conditions limit them to holiday use are excepted. The alternative, business rates, requires the property to be available for 252 days and actually let for 182 days a year, a demanding target that many part-time holiday lets cannot meet. For Welsh owners, the premium and the letting threshold have to be planned together.

Scotland: no cap since April 2026

Until 1 April 2026 Scottish premiums were limited to double the standard charge. That limit has gone, and councils now set their own levels. Examples verified in September 2026:

• Highland: second homes are charged 300% of the standard council tax from 1 April 2026.
• Glasgow: a 200% premium from 1 April 2026, so triple council tax.
• Argyll and Bute: a 110% premium from 1 April 2026.
• Edinburgh: a 100% premium for 2026/27 after a planned increase was paused in April; the council then decided on 27 August 2026 to apply a 300% premium from 1 January 2027.
• Scottish Borders: a premium set at 125% and due to rise to 200% by 2028, according to the Scottish Parliament's research service.

Scottish councils may also waive premiums in some situations, such as a property being actively marketed for sale or let, subject to evidence. And a Scottish self-catering property that is available for 140 nights and let for 70 in the financial year leaves council tax altogether for non-domestic rates, on evidence sent to the assessor.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has no council tax. Homes pay domestic rates, and self-catering accommodation available for short lets for 140 days or more a year is generally valued for non-domestic rates instead.

Three ways owners respond

• Run it as a business. Commit the property to letting, meet the threshold for your nation, keep the evidence and move to business rates, where small properties may also get relief.
• Accept the premium. If family use is the priority, include the premium in the annual budget and price the let weeks accordingly.
• Change the use. A long-term tenancy makes the property someone's main home and takes it out of the premium; a mid-term furnished let can bridge seasons, but check how your council treats it.

Before you buy

Ask the council for the current premium and whether a change has been announced; read the planning history for occupancy conditions that might exempt the property; and run the numbers on the letting threshold, not only on the purchase price. Premiums set by councils can move every year, and in Scotland they can now move a long way.

Our approach

When we assess a holiday home, we look at the owner's own use first, because it decides which side of the line the property can realistically sit. Tell us about your property; we study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.