Autumn Budget 2026: Date Confirmed
HM Treasury has confirmed the Autumn Budget 2026 will be held on Wednesday 28 October 2026. Here's what that means, what's already locked in for 2026-27 regardless of the announcement, and what to watch for on the day.
Confirmed by HM Treasury
Wednesday 28 October 2026
The date was announced on gov.uk on 31 July 2026, in a letter from the Chancellor to the Treasury Select Committee — the standard mechanism for confirming a Budget date. This is not a prediction. The statement will be delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon John Healey MP, who was appointed to the role on 20 July 2026, and it will be his first Budget.
Measures affecting income tax, National Insurance and dividends would normally start on 6 April 2027, the first day of the 2027-28 tax year. HM Treasury has not published a start time for the statement itself.
What's Already Changing in 2026-27 — Regardless of This Budget
The 2026-27 tax year started on 6 April 2026 and its headline changes were set before this Budget, not at it. Whatever the Chancellor announces on 28 October, these are already in force:
- Dividend tax +2 percentage points — from 6 April 2026: basic rate 8.75% → 10.75%, higher rate 33.75% → 35.75%, additional rate unchanged at 39.35%. The dividend allowance stays at £500. See it on your dividends
- BPR/APR inheritance tax allowance — from 6 April 2026, Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief share a combined £2,500,000 allowance at 100% relief per person, with 50% relief above it and unused allowance transferable to a surviving spouse or civil partner. Shares not listed on a recognised exchange, such as AIM shares, get 50% relief regardless. Inheritance Tax calculator
- Frozen income tax and NI thresholds — the Personal Allowance stays at £12,570 and the basic rate limit at £37,700, held there until 5 April 2031, with the NI Upper Earnings Limit aligned at £50,270. Income Tax calculator
- Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — the first wave started on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000, assessed on the 2024-25 return. Check whether it applies to you
Already Announced, With a Date — Not Up for Debate on 28 October
Several changes that get written about as "Budget rumours" have in fact already been announced by the government and carry a published start date. They can of course be revisited, but as things stand they are settled policy — and each one is already reflected in the tool that works out what it means for you.
Cash ISA limit cut to £12,000 for under-65s
6 April 2027Announced at Autumn Budget 2025. Savers aged 65 and over keep the full £20,000 cash limit, and the overall ISA allowance is unchanged at £20,000 — the difference has to go into stocks and shares, innovative finance or a Lifetime ISA instead of cash.
Unused pension funds brought into Inheritance Tax
6 April 2027Most unused pension funds and death benefits fall inside the estate for Inheritance Tax on deaths from that date. Personal representatives — not scheme administrators — are liable for reporting and paying it. Death-in-service benefits and dependants' scheme pensions from defined benefit or collective money purchase arrangements are outside the change.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax widens
6 April 2027The qualifying-income threshold drops to £30,000, assessed on the 2025-26 Self Assessment return, bringing a further tranche of sole traders and landlords into quarterly digital reporting.
Salary-sacrificed pension contributions capped at £2,000 a year for National Insurance
6 April 2029Announced at Budget 2025. Only the first £2,000 a year of employee pension contributions made by salary sacrifice stays exempt from NICs; above that, employer and employee NICs apply as they would to an ordinary workplace pension contribution. Income Tax relief is unchanged at any level.
Income tax and NI thresholds stay frozen
to 5 April 2031The Personal Allowance stays at £12,570 and the basic rate limit at £37,700; the NI Upper Earnings Limit and Upper Profits Limit stay aligned to the higher rate threshold at £50,270 until the 2030 to 2031 tax year. Announced at Budget 2025 and legislated in Finance Bill 2025-26.
What to Watch For on Budget Day
How to read this section
We do not publish predictions about what the Chancellor will announce, and we do not repeat unsourced figures from media speculation. What follows is the opposite: for each policy area that tends to come up, we set out what the law actually is today, taken from the same central configuration our calculators run on — so that when something does change on 28 October you can see exactly what moved, and by how much, against your own numbers.
Two things worth knowing before Budget day. First, the Office for Budget Responsibility publishes its Economic and Fiscal Outlook alongside the Budget under the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011, and its assessment of headroom against the fiscal rules shapes what a Chancellor can afford. Second, income tax and NI thresholds are already frozen to April 2031 — our own fiscal drag research quantifies what that freeze alone costs by salary band, with no announcement required.
Child Benefit and the High Income Child Benefit Charge
Where the law stands today
- Child Benefit is £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 a week for each additional child.
- The High Income Child Benefit Charge starts once the higher earner's adjusted net income passes £60,000. You repay 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 above that, so the whole amount is clawed back at £80,000.
- Those two thresholds have applied since the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
A move in the threshold, the taper width or the weekly rate changes what a household actually keeps. The calculator does the clawback arithmetic against your own adjusted net income.
Pension tax relief
Where the law stands today
- Relief is available on contributions worth up to 100% of your earnings, and the annual allowance is £60,000.
- The allowance tapers once threshold income exceeds £200,000 and adjusted income exceeds £260,000, falling no lower than £10,000.
- The money purchase annual allowance, which applies once you have flexibly accessed a pension, is £10,000.
- Basic rate relief is claimed by the scheme; higher and additional rate taxpayers claim the rest, normally through Self Assessment.
Relief rates and the annual allowance are the two levers that decide what a pension contribution is really worth. Both calculators take a contribution and an income and show the relief today.
Salary sacrifice
Where the law stands today
- Sacrificing salary reduces gross pay, so employee and employer National Insurance both fall alongside Income Tax.
- That NICs advantage is already dated: from 6 April 2029, only the first £2,000 a year of employee pension contributions made this way stays NICs-exempt.
- Income Tax relief on salary-sacrificed pension contributions is unchanged by that cap.
The 2029 cap is already legislated policy rather than a rumour, so the useful question is what your own arrangement is worth now and what the cap would do to it.
Capital Gains Tax
Where the law stands today
- The annual exempt amount is £3,000.
- Gains are taxed at 18% to the extent they fall within your basic rate band and 24% above it, for both residential property and other assets.
- Business Asset Disposal Relief charges 18% on qualifying gains, with a lifetime limit of £1,000,000.
CGT has three separate dials — the exempt amount, the rates, and the relief rates — and they have moved independently in recent years. Run a disposal through the calculator to see which one binds for you.
Income tax thresholds and the freeze
Where the law stands today
- The Personal Allowance is £12,570 and the basic rate limit £37,700, putting the higher rate threshold at £50,270 outside Scotland.
- Both are held at those levels until 5 April 2031, with the NI Upper Earnings Limit and Upper Profits Limit aligned at £50,270 until the 2030 to 2031 tax year.
- Scotland sets its own rates and bands for non-savings, non-dividend income; the Personal Allowance is UK-wide.
A freeze raises tax without changing a rate: pay rises push more of your income over a fixed line. Our research page puts a number on that by salary band, and the calculator shows the effect on your own pay.
Council tax and property
Where the law stands today
- Council tax bills are set by local authorities, not by HM Treasury, so a Budget does not set your bill directly.
- Bands rest on property values as at 1 April 1991 in England and Scotland, and 1 April 2003 in Wales.
- Average Band D charges for 2026-27 are £2,392 in England, £2,283 in Wales and £1,653 in Scotland.
- Single-person discount (25%) applies where one countable adult lives in the home, or where everyone else there is disregarded.
Property taxation is a standing Budget-day talking point, but the bill you pay is built from your band, your council's Band D charge and your discounts. Start from that, then read any announcement against it.
How Budget Changes Flow Into Our Calculators
When measures from a Budget are confirmed and take effect, we update the central tax-year configuration that powers every calculator on this site — so your numbers stay current without you having to track legislation yourself. The dividend rate rise and the BPR/APR allowance are already live in these tools:
Key Dates
- Confirmed Wednesday 28 October 2026 — Autumn Budget 2026, Chancellor's statement to Parliament
- Expected Same day — OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecast, published alongside the Budget by statutory convention
- Typical 28-29 October 2026 — duties, SDLT and some anti-forestalling measures can take effect from Budget day or the next day
- Confirmed 6 April 2027 — cash ISA limit falls to £12,000 for under-65s; unused pension funds come inside Inheritance Tax; Making Tax Digital reaches £30,000 of qualifying income
- Typical 6 April 2027 — start of the 2027-28 tax year, when most income tax, NI, dividend and allowance changes from this Budget would take effect
- Confirmed 6 April 2029 — NICs relief on salary-sacrificed pension contributions capped at £2,000 a year
- Confirmed 5 April 2031 — end of the announced income tax and NI threshold freeze
Frequently asked questions
When is the Autumn Budget 2026?
Wednesday 28 October 2026. The Chancellor confirmed the date in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee published on gov.uk on 31 July 2026 — this is an official confirmation, not a rumour or forecast.
Has the date been officially confirmed, or is this a guess?
It's officially confirmed. HM Treasury published the date on gov.uk on 31 July 2026, both in the Chancellor's letter to the Treasury Select Committee and in an accompanying gov.uk news article. We link both sources below.
What time does the Budget start?
HM Treasury has not published a start time for the statement. The Chancellor delivers the Budget in the House of Commons, and Parliament publishes the Commons order of business for the day in advance. We'll put the confirmed time here rather than guess at one.
Who is the Chancellor delivering the Budget?
The Rt Hon John Healey MP, who was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 July 2026. This will be his first Budget in the role.
Is the Autumn Budget the same as an Autumn Statement?
For 2026 the autumn fiscal event is a Budget — that is the word HM Treasury uses in its own announcement. "Autumn Statement" was the label used for the autumn event in some earlier years; there is no separate Autumn Statement alongside this Budget, so a search for one will land you here.
Will the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publish a forecast on the same day?
By long-standing convention — and by requirement under the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 — the OBR produces an Economic and Fiscal Outlook to accompany every Budget, so an EFO is expected alongside the 28 October 2026 Budget. The OBR has not yet published a dedicated confirmation notice as of the time of writing; we'll update this page when it does.
Do Budget tax changes take effect immediately?
It depends on the tax. Income tax, National Insurance and dividend tax changes almost always start at the beginning of the next tax year — 6 April 2027 for anything announced at this Budget. Duties (fuel, alcohol, tobacco), Stamp Duty Land Tax and some anti-forestalling measures can take effect from Budget day itself or the following day.
What's already changing in 2026-27 regardless of what's announced on 28 October?
The 2026-27 tax year (already in force since 6 April 2026) locked in the dividend tax rise, the £2,500,000 combined BPR/APR inheritance tax allowance, and continues the income tax and NI threshold freeze through April 2031. None of that depends on this Budget — see the full rundown on our Tax Changes 2026-27 hub.
Is anything already confirmed for 2027-28 and beyond?
Yes, and it is dated. The cash ISA limit falls to £12,000 for under-65s on 6 April 2027, unused pension funds come inside Inheritance Tax on the same date, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax reaches £30,000 of qualifying income on 6 April 2027, and NICs relief on salary-sacrificed pension contributions is capped at £2,000 a year from 6 April 2029.
Where do I find your updated numbers after the Budget?
In the calculators themselves. Rates, thresholds and allowances live in one central tax-year configuration that every calculator on this site reads, so a confirmed measure is updated once and flows through the Income Tax, take-home pay, dividend, CGT and pension tools together. This page will summarise what changed and link straight to them.
Will this page be updated after the Budget?
Yes. This page will be updated as pre-Budget details are confirmed and again on/after 28 October 2026 with the actual measures announced, replacing the speculative section below with what actually happened.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Chancellor letter to the Treasury Select Committee: Budget 2026 date
- GOV.UK — Budget date announcement (31 July 2026)
- GOV.UK — Chancellor of the Exchequer (ministerial page)
- GOV.UK — Maintaining Income Tax and equivalent NICs thresholds until 5 April 2031
- GOV.UK — ISA reform 2027 factsheet (cash ISA limit from 6 April 2027)
- GOV.UK — Salary sacrifice reform for pension contributions from 6 April 2029
- GOV.UK — Inheritance Tax: unused pension funds and death benefits (from 6 April 2027)
- GOV.UK — Inheritance tax reliefs threshold rising for farmers and businesses (23 December 2025)
- GOV.UK — Tax on dividends
- GOV.UK — High Income Child Benefit Charge
- GOV.UK — Pension annual allowance
- GOV.UK — Capital Gains Tax rates
- GOV.UK — Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK — Council Tax: who has to pay (discounts and disregards)
- legislation.gov.uk — Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011
- UK Tax Tools — Tax Changes 2026-27 hub
Related Calculators
Income Tax Calculator
Run your salary through 2025-26 and 2026-27 UK tax bands with personal allowance, taper and reliefs applied — including Scottish 6-band rates.
Dividend Tax Calculator
10.75/35.75/39.35% dividend rates against the £500 dividend allowance — for directors and investors.
Child Benefit Calculator
£27.05/£17.90 rates, HICBC taper £60k-£80k
Salary Sacrifice Calculator
Pension, EV lease, cycle-to-work — model gross pay reduction and the NI + tax savings from salary sacrifice arrangements.
UK Tax Year Comparison
Compare your take-home pay across 2026-27 vs 2025-26. See the £ difference from frozen PA thresholds, NI rate changes, and Scottish band shifts — all with HMRC rates.
UK Tax Changes 2026-27 Hub
Every 2026-27 change in one place: dividend +2pp, BPR/APR £2.5M cap, fiscal drag tables, MTD ITSA, pension IHT 2027 runway