Autumn Budget 2026: What are the headlines and what do they mean for you?
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Fraud in Britain: How to protect your savings
Autumn Budget 2026: What are the headlines and what do they mean for you?
3 minute read
A breakdown of the Autumn Budget
At the end of October, we had this year’s Autumn Budget. This is the first time Chancellor, John Healey, gave his financial update for the year.
During this speech, the Chancellor set out his plans for the UK’s tax, spending and the wider economy. As with most years, there was quite a lot to digest – but to help you get to grips with the key headlines, we’ve brought in the experts.
Our Head of Strategy, Jeremy Cox, and Head of Homes, Matthew Carter, have given a breakdown of both the savings and homes announcements. We’ve also picked out some of the other changes that may affect your money.
Savings
Jeremy says: “This year’s Autumn Budget was a tale of two halves. We had some great news if you're an ISA saver, but there was also a downside with the further increase to income tax payable on savings interest. Take a look at some of the headlines below to make sure your money is going to continue working as hard as possible for you.”
- The cash ISA limit will stay the same after plans to reduce it were dropped. This means you’ll still be able to save £20,000 a year in a cash ISA, whatever your age. You’ll also have the flexibility to move money from stocks and shares to cash ISAs, and vice versa.
- A new Starter ISA is going to be created. This will help people who want to invest in a stocks and shares ISA for the first time.
- From Spring 2028, the Help to Save scheme will be available through more savings providers. This will make it easier for more people to use.
- From April 2027, if you pay tax on your savings interest, this will go up to:
- 24% for basic rate taxpayers
- 44% for higher rate taxpayers
- 49% for additional rate taxpayers.
This makes it even more valuable to use your ISA, Offset mortgage or other options to reduce your taxable savings interest. Doing so could help you avoid paying tax on a large portion of your savings interest through your tax code or self-assessment.
There were a few ISA announcements that overlapped with Homes news. Take a look at the section below to find out more.
Homes
- A new Your First Home scheme has the potential to make home ownership happen faster. It’ll help around 70,000 first time buyers get on the property ladder. Eligible buyers will be able to borrow up to 20% of a home's value from the government. They’ll need a minimum 2.5% deposit and won’t pay interest on the loan for the first five years. This will bring the first rung of the ladder much closer, while taking some of the pressure off the Bank of Mum and Dad. Applications will open in February 2027.
- A new First Time Buyer ISA is more of a long-term play and for future buyers. It will launch in April 2029, letting savers set aside £4,000 a year and the government will add a 25% bonus. This is to put towards their first home. This will replace the Lifetime ISA for new savers.
- From 29 October 2026, the charge for withdrawing money from a Lifetime ISA to buy a property worth more than £450,000 will go down to 20%. This means savers can keep more of the money they have paid in.
- An extra £1.5 billion will be provided for affordable and social housing. This should help build around 10,000 more homes.
- From April 2027, the tax rates for property income will increase to:
- 24% for the property basic rate taxpayers
- 44% for the property higher rate taxpayers
- 49% for the property additional rate taxpayers and property trusts.
Pensions
- From April 2027, a new Pension Tax Allowance will be brought in. This will help stop some pensioners from paying income tax if their income is no more than the full new State Pension.
- In other pension news, the State Pension will continue to increase each year. From April 2030, it will rise by whichever is highest: 2.5%, inflation, or the amount needed to keep pace with earnings.
Energy and bills
- VAT on household electricity at will stay at 0% until July 2027. This will save the average home around £50 a year.
- From January 2027, a new Household Energy Payment will give £100 to households in Council Tax bands A to D.
- The government has asked Ofgem to remove standing charges on domestic gas bills by the end of 2027. It also plans to make changes to electricity standing charges.
- A new Energy Debt Circuit Breaker and wider household energy debt strategy will be brought in. This will help households struggling with energy debt. This could save households around £30 a year by 2030.
- The temporary 5p fuel duty cut will stay in place until 1 July 2027. Fuel duty rates will also remain frozen until then.
Wages
- From April 2027, the National Living Wage will increase by 3.9% to £13.21 per hour. The National Minimum Wage for 18–20-year-olds will rise by 3.9% to £11.27 per hour.
Other things to note
Published November 2026
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