The UK now carries the highest property tax burden of any major economy, according to fresh analysis from tax firm Ryan, adding to the wider cost pressure already weighing on landlords and property investors. The review said Britain ranked first globally for property taxes as a share of GDP and second for total property tax revenues.

Property taxes remain deeply embedded in UK revenue

Ryan’s 2026 Annual Business Rates Review put UK property taxes at 3.7% of GDP, ahead of France and Canada at 3.4%. The UK also ranked among the highest countries for property taxes as a share of total tax revenues, underlining how heavily the state still leans on the property sector.

Alex Probyn, practice leader for Europe and Asia-Pacific Property Tax at Ryan, said the UK sat “at the very top of global rankings for property tax” and argued that property was taxed more heavily here than in any comparable economy.

He said the burden was becoming harder to ignore for sectors that depend on physical assets and long-term capital.

This follows Residential Landlord’s recent coverage of coming landlord tax rises, which warned that extra costs were likely to filter through into rents. The latest figures broaden that picture. This is not just about one Budget measure or one surcharge – it is about a tax system that keeps returning to property when the Treasury needs revenue.

Landlords will read these rankings through a residential lens rather than a commercial one. While Ryan’s review focuses heavily on business rates, the bigger point is the same: the UK taxes property aggressively and often reaches for the sector first. That matters because buy-to-let investors are already carrying higher Stamp Duty bills, tighter compliance costs and rising finance pressure.

Why landlords should pay attention

There is a temptation to treat business rates analysis as somebody else’s problem. That would be a mistake. If the wider tax culture stays hostile to property ownership, landlords should expect little appetite in Westminster for meaningful relief elsewhere. Combined with Residential Landlord’s reporting on rising Stamp Duty receipts, the message is plain: the tax take from property remains politically useful and financially hard for government to give up.

• Higher property taxes reduce room for landlords to absorb other new costs
• Investors may become more selective on purchases and portfolio growth
• Tenants are still likely to feel part of the burden through rents over time

The broader backdrop can be tracked through Ryan’s tax news and research hub, which hosts the firm’s property tax analysis and related commentary.

Opinion

Government still talks about housing as if supply can be expanded while property keeps taking the strain in the tax system. That is hard to square. If ministers want private capital to stay in housing, they cannot go on treating the sector as an easy target every time the public finances tighten.