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Autumn Budget 2026: what changes for your savings, ISAs and tax

Chancellor John Healey delivered his first Budget on 28 October 2026. This is a plain-English summary of what it means for individuals, taken from the official GOV.UK Budget documents. Last checked: 28 October 2026.

Everything below is announced, which means it still needs legislation, unless it says otherwise. Most changes start on 6 April 2027 at the earliest, so nothing on your payslip changes tomorrow.

Key dates

  • 29 October 2026: the Lifetime ISA withdrawal charge falls to 20% for homes over the price cap (see below).
  • 6 April 2027: higher tax on savings and rental income, a bigger trading allowance, and the Pension Tax Allowance.
  • April 2028: work expenses can be claimed through PAYE without a tax return.
  • April 2029: the First Time Buyer ISA launches.

What didn’t change

  • The £12,570 Personal Allowance and the 20% / 40% / 45% Income Tax bands for 2027-28 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland sets its own rates).
  • The main National Insurance thresholds stay frozen, as already announced.
  • Dividend tax rates (10.75% / 35.75% / 39.35%) and the £500 dividend allowance.
  • The main Capital Gains Tax rates (18% and 24%) and the £3,000 annual allowance.
  • The £20,000 overall ISA allowance, the £60,000 pension annual allowance and the £1,260 Marriage Allowance.

Savings and rental income: higher rates from 6 April 2027

Tax on savings interest rises to 24% (basic rate), 44% (higher rate) and 49% (additional rate), across the UK. Tax on rental profits rises to the same rates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Personal Savings Allowance stays at £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers and £500 for higher-rate taxpayers, and you only pay the higher rate on interest above your allowances.

Examples (illustrative, comparing the 2026-27 rates with the 2027-28 rates):

  • A higher-rate taxpayer with £2,000 of interest outside an ISA pays tax on £1,500 after the £500 allowance. That is £660 at 44%, compared with £600 at 40%, so £60 more.
  • A basic-rate taxpayer with £5,000 of rental profit would pay £1,200 at 24%, compared with £1,000 at 20%, so £200 more.

Source: Budget 2026 OOTLAR, sections 1.1 and 1.2, and Annex A.

ISAs

  • The cash ISA limit stays at £20,000 for everyone aged 18 or over from April 2027. The cut to £12,000 announced last year is dropped. The change will be made by regulations due in November 2026.
  • A new First Time Buyer ISA will replace the Lifetime ISA for new savers, launching in April 2029, with a 25% government bonus on the final balance up to £20,000 towards a first home worth up to £450,000. Existing Lifetime ISA holders carry on under the current rules.
  • Lifetime ISA charge: from 29 October 2026, the withdrawal charge for buying a home above the £450,000 Lifetime ISA price cap falls from 25% to 20%. Other early withdrawals stay at 25%.
  • The government will also work with industry on a new incentive for first-time Stocks and Shares ISA investors. The design isn’t decided yet.

Source: OOTLAR sections 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5.

Self-employed and side income

  • The trading allowance triples from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027, and the Self Assessment reporting threshold for trading income rises to £3,000 too.
  • Making Tax Digital: no late-submission penalty points for quarterly updates in 2027-28 for people who join in April 2027. You still need to send the updates.

Source: OOTLAR sections 1.5 and 2.36.

Business owners

  • The Business Asset Disposal Relief lifetime limit halves from £1 million to £500,000 for disposals on or after 6 April 2027.
  • A new Founders’ Relief would charge a 10% Capital Gains Tax rate on up to £10 million of lifetime gains for qualifying disposals from 6 April 2027. A technical consultation is open until 30 November 2026.

Source: OOTLAR sections 1.32 and 1.33.

Pensioners

From 6 April 2027, if you are over State Pension age and your total income is no more than the full new State Pension, you won’t pay Income Tax thanks to the Pension Tax Allowance, which was first announced at the 2025 Budget. It runs for three tax years, 2027-28 to 2029-30, and tapers away at £1 for every £3 of income above that level.

Source: OOTLAR section 1.4.

Employees

From April 2028, the £2,500 limit for claiming work expenses without a tax return goes, so more people can claim non-reimbursed work expenses through PAYE without filing a tax return just for that.

Source: OOTLAR section 2.9.

Families

Child Benefit rises to £28.00 a week for the eldest or only child and £18.55 for other children from April 2027.

Source: Annex A.

What to do now

Nothing needs doing today. If you have savings or rental income, it’s worth checking in the new tax year whether you’re using your ISA allowance and your Personal Savings Allowance. You can try the figures yourself for free in the SavingTax app, or get a tax tip with its GOV.UK source every Monday in SavingTax UK Club on WhatsApp.

Check your own figures for free: get SavingTax on the App Store or Google Play.

This post gives general information only. It isn’t financial, tax or legal advice, and the details may change when the Finance Bill and regulations are published.