2026 Autumn Budget summary: what does it mean for me?

The Autumn Budget is an update from the UK Government about the state of the economy, which often includes information about spending and tax decisions. The announcements set the Government’s intentions for the coming months and years, with references made to the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The Autumn Budget was delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey at 12:30pm on Wednesday 28 October 2026. Find the Autumn Budget summary below and learn what it means for you.

The Government will be removing the gas Standing Charge which is currently set at £108 a year. That cost will be shifted onto unit rates. This means that instead of paying a fixed daily fee just to have gas connected, that cost will be added to the price of the gas you actually use. This may impact people differently depending on whether you use more or less gas in your household. 

Find out how the gas Standing Charges could impact you in our dedicated update. 

20 million households in council tax bands A‑D will receive £100 off their council tax (paid straight to their bank account) to help with rising energy costs

Check your council tax band here.

Workers who use their own car or van for work purposes will be eligible for more support from April 2027 through the increase of tax-free mileage rates. The mileage rate will stay at 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, and will increase from 25p to 35p above 10,000 miles.

The 2026 Autumn Budget announced a 3.9% increase in both the national minimum wage and national living wage for people aged between 18 and 20 years old, the same increase as those aged 21 years and over. However, this is a lower increase than in previous budgets.

Around 150,000 self-employed fathers and non-birthing partners in same-sex couples will soon be eligible for two weeks of state-funded parental pay worth up to £194 a week. Currently, Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is available only to traditional employees, leaving self-employed partners with no statutory financial support after the birth of a child, even though self-employed mothers can already claim Maternity Allowance of between £27 and £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks. This new initiative aims to close that gap and provide financial help for self-employed households during the first weeks of their child’s life.

The Carers Allowance earning limit will change from the 2030/31 financial year: currently unpaid carers who earn even a penny over the earning limit lose the full benefit.

Thousands of businesses will be taken out of paying business rates to help UK high streets. This means there will be an increase in the threshold for small business rate relief for retail hospitality and leisure businesses from £12,000 to £18,000. This means that around 70,000 businesses will be taken out of paying business rates altogether. This will be funded by raising the taxes on gambling.

If you’re a first-time buyer, you may be able to buy a home for 30% to 50% less than its market value. The applications are expected to open in February 2027. Find out more about the scheme on GOV UK’s website.

It was announced that £430 million will be provided to fund emergency housing for homelessness for the remainder of Parliament (previously the commitment to this was just for winter 2026/2027)

Lower tariffs on food products will expect to deliver consumer savings, this will be equivalent to c.£0.40p per week per household. Lower tariffs will apply to 100 food items. 

£15m will be put into book-supplying charities, such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to help children up to the age of five with free, high-quality, age-appropriate books every month.

Even though the full state pension is set to rise to around £13,040 in April 2027 (passing the standard £12,570 tax-free allowance) Chancellor John Healey confirmed that pensioners living solely on the full state pension won’t pay any income tax during this Parliament.

There were two main announcements during the Autumn Budget in relation to savings: the first was that the proposed cut to tax-free limit on Cash ISAs will be cancelled (with the threshold remaining at £20,000 annually.)

There will also be a New Starter ISA to help make investing more accessible.

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