Delivered a month later than last year’s, the delay only fuelled speculation that has seemed to drag on endlessly – how will the books be balanced?
Will she increase income tax, breaking her party’s election manifesto? Would she break her own fiscal rules on borrowing? Trim the use of cash ISAs? Or has the economic outlook taken a surprising turn for the better?
So, budget day is finally here, so what actually happened? Here is what we think are the most important headlines for you:
Income tax and NI
- Existing thresholds to be frozen until 2030/31 (previously 2028/29).
April 2026
- Dividend income tax increase of 2% to basic and higher rate bands raising them to 10.75% and 35.75%
- Relief removed for employee’s non-reimbursed homeworking expenses
April 2027
- Property and saving income will see a 2% increase across the basic, higher and additional rates. Rising to 22%, 42% and 47% respectively
- ISA reform – The £20,000 allowance limit is retained, but from April 2027 £8,000 of this will be designated exclusively for investment purposes. Meaning only £12,000 per year can be placed into a cash ISA. This change will not apply to savers over the age of 65
April 2029
- Salary sacrificed pension contributions above an annual £2,000 threshold will no longer be exempt from employee and employer NI.
Business
26th November 2025 – Capital gains tax relief on disposals to employee ownership trusts relief reducing to 50% (previously 100%)
April 2026 – Increases to the minimum wage:
- Aged 21 and over will see a 4.1% increase, bringing it up to £12.71p/h (previously £12.21p/h)
- 18 to 20-year-olds will see an 8.5% rise to £10.85p/h (previously £10p/h).
- 16 to 17 year-olds and those on apprenticeships will get a 6% increase, bringing the minimum wage up to £8p/h (previously £7.55p/h)
- Apprenticeships training costs free for SMEs
April 2026 – Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) will have increased eligibility to allow scale-ups, as well as start-ups, to access the scheme
Capital allowances:
- January 2026 – A new 40% first-year allowance
- April 2026 – Main rate writing-down allowance reduction to 14%
- Extension to the 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars and electric vehicle charge points to 31 March 2027 for Corporation Tax and 5 April 2027 for Income Tax
Employee car ownership schemes will see a delay to bringing them within the benefit in kind rules from 6 April 2026 to 6 April 2030
Other Announcements
- Help to Save scheme to be made permanent. This scheme is available to those on universal credit, which sees the government add 50p for every £1 saved
- April 2026 – Change to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief to allow for any unused allowance for the 100% rate of relief to be transferred between spouses and civil partners
- April 2028 – “Electric Vehicle Excise Duty eVED”. A new tax for electric cars of 3p per mile for fully electric cars and 1.5p per mile for plug-in hybrid cars will be paid alongside the VED
- April 2028 – “High value council tax surcharge” was unveiled. A new annual £2,500 charge on properties worth more than £2m, rising to £7,500 where the property is worth more than £5m. This will be collected with council tax.
- March 2029 – Reform the customs treatment of low value imports
As usual the devil is in the detail, and we will not necessarily know the exact impact until the changes have been passed through government. If you have any question about how these many affect you or your business, please contact your local AIMS accountant.