The Autumn Budget 2026, delivered on 28 October 2026, does not raise the headline rates of income tax or National Insurance. If you are paid through PAYE in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and your salary does not change, your income tax and NI for 2027-28 are the same as now. The changes for employees are smaller: business mileage, expense claims, how benefits in kind are taxed, and student loan interest. For every other measure, see our Autumn Budget 2026 summary.
What changed at a glance
| Measure | What happens | From |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax and employee NI rates | Unchanged: 20% / 40% / 45% and 8% / 2% | 2027-28 |
| Personal Allowance | Unchanged at £12,570 | 2027-28 |
| Mileage rate above 10,000 business miles | 25p to 35p; 55p for the first 10,000 made permanent | 6 April 2027 |
| Company cars, vans, fuel and medical benefits | Taxed through payroll | 6 April 2027 |
| £2,500 Self Assessment threshold for job expenses | Removed | 6 April 2028 |
| Plan 2 and Plan 3 student loan interest | Capped at 6% | 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027 |
| NICs relief on salary-sacrificed pension contributions | Capped at £2,000 a year (Budget 2025, unchanged) | 6 April 2029 |
Income tax and National Insurance: rates and thresholds stay put
HMRC’s 2027-28 rates table keeps the Personal Allowance at £12,570 and income tax at 20%, 40% and 45% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Employee National Insurance stays 8% on earnings between the Primary Threshold and the Upper Earnings Limit, and 2% above it. The thresholds remain frozen until April 2031, so as pay rises, more of your income is taxed, and more of it at the higher rates. Our fiscal drag research shows what that costs by salary.
Scotland. Scottish income tax rates and bands for 2027-28 are set by the Scottish Budget, not this one, and have not been published yet. National Insurance is the same across the UK.
Savings. If you have interest outside an ISA above your Personal Savings Allowance, the tax on it rises to 24%, 44% or 49% from 6 April 2027. See Autumn Budget 2026 for investors.
Use the take-home pay calculator to see your 2026-27 pay; with no rate or threshold change, the same salary gives the same income tax and NI in 2027-28.
Mileage: a higher rate above 10,000 miles
The 55p-a-mile rate for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van, introduced as a temporary rate this year, is made permanent. From 6 April 2027 the rate for miles above 10,000 rises from 25p to 35p. If your employer pays less than these rates, you can claim tax relief on the difference. The mileage allowance calculator works it out.
Job expenses: Self Assessment no longer needed above £2,500
Today, an employee claiming more than £2,500 of unreimbursed work expenses has to use Self Assessment. From 6 April 2028 that threshold is removed, so more employees will be able to claim through PAYE. HMRC says more claims will need evidence before relief is given.
Company cars and other benefits
From 6 April 2027 employers must report and tax company cars and vans, car and van fuel, and medical benefits through payroll, instead of a P11D at the end of the year. Most other benefits follow from 6 April 2028. You will see the tax in your payslip each month rather than through a tax code adjustment.
For 2030-31, company car tax rates go up: the zero-emission rate rises from 9% to 10%, cars emitting 1 to 50g CO2/km from 19% to 20%, and every other band by one point, up to a maximum of 40%. The company car tax calculator covers the current rates.
Student loans
Interest on Plan 2 and Plan 3 (postgraduate) loans is capped at 6% from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027. Monthly repayments are 9% or 6% of your income above the threshold, not a share of the loan, so the cap changes your balance, not your payslip. Check yours in the student loan calculator.
Other changes worth knowing
- Minimum wage. The National Living Wage rises to £13.21 an hour from 1 April 2027. See minimum wage rates.
- Share options. The limit on tax-advantaged options under the Company Share Option Plan, renamed EMI2, doubles from £60,000 to £120,000 from 6 April 2027.
- Salary sacrifice. The Budget 2025 cap is unchanged: from 6 April 2029 only the first £2,000 a year of salary-sacrificed pension contributions is free of National Insurance. Income tax relief is unaffected. See the salary sacrifice calculator.
- Child Benefit. HMRC’s 2027-28 table puts it at £28.00 a week for the eldest child and £18.55 for each other child.
What to do now
- Check your pay in the take-home pay calculator. The 2026-27 result is also your 2027-28 result if your salary does not change and you live outside Scotland.
- If you drive for work, compare what your employer pays with the new 35p higher-mileage rate in the mileage allowance calculator.
- If you use salary sacrifice above £2,000 a year, use the salary sacrifice calculator to see what the 2029 cap does to it.
Summary
For employees, Budget 2026 is mostly about what did not change: the Personal Allowance stays £12,570 and income tax and employee NI rates stay the same for 2027-28. The changes are a 35p higher mileage rate from 6 April 2027, company cars and other benefits moving into payroll from the same date, and the end of the £2,500 Self Assessment threshold for expense claims from 6 April 2028.