Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has admitted she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat, a mistake that could cost her tens of thousands of pounds and put her political future at risk.
Rayner confirmed she wrongly paid the lower rate of the property tax when she bought the flat in Hove in May 2025. Tax experts say she could now face an extra bill of up to £40,000. She has referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser and is working with HM Revenue and Customs to settle what she owes.
The admission is a blow for Labour, which is already struggling in the polls behind Reform UK. It also leaves Rayner open to charges of hypocrisy, as the government is expected to announce higher taxes on property owners in the autumn budget.
In a statement, Rayner said she “deeply regretted” the error. She explained that she had classified the Hove flat as her only property, even though her main family home is in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, where her children live full-time.
The situation is complicated by a trust she set up in 2020 for her son, who was left with lifelong disabilities after being born prematurely. Months before buying the flat, Rayner transferred her stake in the Ashton home into that trust. Lawyers initially advised her that the transfer meant she only needed to pay standard stamp duty. But tax experts later told her that because her children benefit from the trust and can live in the house for life, the property should still count as hers.
That means the Hove flat should have been treated as an additional home, making her liable for £70,000 in stamp duty instead of the £30,000 she paid.
Rayner said she relied on legal advice at the time but has since consulted a senior tax barrister, who confirmed she owes more. She stressed she is now working to correct the mistake.
“Family life is rarely straightforward, particularly when dealing with disability, divorce and the complexities of ensuring your children’s long-term security,” she said. “Every decision I have made has been guided by what I believe to be in my children’s best interests. I deeply regret the error that has been made.”
The issue became public after Downing Street revealed that a court order had prevented Rayner from disclosing details of her property ownership. On Tuesday, she secured permission to release them.
Rayner has now promised full cooperation with the independent adviser on ministerial standards, insisting she wants to provide complete transparency.
