Autumn Budget 2025: What does it mean for savers?
3 minute read
Fraud in Britain: How to protect your savings
Autumn Budget 2025: What does it mean for you?
3 minute read
A breakdown of the Autumn Budget
At the end of November, we had this year’s Autumn Budget. This is when the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, gives her financial update for the year. It’s her chance to set out plans for the UK’s tax, spending and the wider economy.
This year, there was quite a lot in the speech – and it can take a while to digest! So to help, we’ve picked out some of the key points that might affect your money. From savings and pensions to homes and inheritance, here’s a quick look at what’s to come:
Savings
- ISAs are going to change from April 2027. The overall ISA allowance will stay at £20,000 per tax year. But if you’re under 65, your cash ISA allowance will drop to £12,000 per tax year. This means you’ll need to use another type of ISA (e.g. stocks and shares ISA) for the other £8,000 of your allowance. Savers over 65 will still be able to save the full amount in a cash ISA, however full details are yet to be announced. You can still take advantage of the £20,000 cash ISA limit up to 5 April 2027.
- The annual Junior ISA allowance will stay at £9,000 until April 2031.
- From April 2027, basic, higher and additional income tax rates on savings will go up by 2%. This means if you pay tax on the interest you earn, after April 2027 the rate the interest is taxed at will increase by 2%.
- A consultation is on the way in early 2026. This will help to develop a new ISA product to support first time buyers.
- The Help to Save scheme helps those on low incomes to save. The scheme has now been made permanent and will also be expanded. From April 2028, it will include everyone getting the 'carer's' element or 'child' element of Universal Credit, including those who can't work due for caring or parental reasons
Homes
- From April 2028, there will be a High Value Council Tax Surcharge. You may hear people refer to this as ‘mansion tax.’ This tax will apply to homes worth more than £2m. It will start at £2,500 a year but will rise to £7,500 for homes worth more than £5m.
| Property value | Tax charge |
|---|---|
| £2m - £2.5m | £2,500 |
| £2.5m - £3.5m | £3,500 |
| £3.5m - £5m | £5,00 |
- Basic and higher income tax rates on property, savings and dividend income will increase by 2 percentage points – an additional cost for our non-ISA savers and landlords, including those who take dividends via limited company Buy to Let.
- From April 2026, an average of £150 will be cut off the costs of energy bills. You can find out more about this budget here.
Pensions
- In April 2026, basic and state pension rates will go up by 4.8%. This is in line with how average wages are going up.
- From April 2029, there will be a new limit on how much you can put into your pension through salary sacrifice. This will be before you pay National Insurance. The first £2,000 will be National Insurance-free. Anything above that, you’ll have to pay.
Inheritance
- Inheritance Tax (IHT) bands will stay as they are until April 2031.
- In the farming space, there’s also new rules that allow spouses to transfer unused IHT allowances to their partner. This means farmland could be passed down tax-free
Working and wages
- Income tax and national insurance thresholds will be frozen for another three years. This will take it to April 2031. This may bring more people into higher tax bands.
- The minimum wage for those aged 18-20 will go up. From April, this will change to £10.82 an hour. The national living wage will also go up to £12.71 an hour
Other things to note
- NHS prescriptions in England will stay at the same price of £9.90.
- From April 2028, a new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty will come into effect. This will be at 3p a mile for battery electric cars and 1.5p a mile for plug-in hybrids.
- Fuel duty has been frozen again. This means it’ll stay as it is until September 2026.
- From April 2027, Air Passenger Duty will go up in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
We’ve only focused on some of the changes from the Budget in this blog. You’ll find all the details on the GOV.UK website.
Published December 2025
Related articles:
How to make the most of your ISA allowance
We could help you find the perfect place to grow your savings for those sunny days..
Related articles:
How to make the most of your ISA allowance
We could help you find the perfect place to grow your savings for those sunny days..
Related articles:
What's next for interest rates?
Discover more on how to deal with changes to interest rates.
