Autumn budget summary November 2025

UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, delivered the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025, announcing £26 billion in tax rises after details were leaked early by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Key measures include freezing income tax and National Insurance thresholds until 2031, limiting cash ISA contributions, increasing taxes on savings and dividends, introducing a mileage tax for electric vehicles, and scrapping the two-child benefit cap. 

The following summarises the main points:

Taxes

• Income Tax and NI: The freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds is extended for three more years, until 2031, expected to raise billions through "fiscal drag"
• Property Tax: A new "mansion tax" will impose a council tax surcharge on properties worth £2 million or more starting in April 2028
• Pensions: National Insurance will be charged on salary-sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000 annually from April 2029
• ISAs: The annual cash ISA limit for those under 65 will be capped at £12,000 starting in April 2027, with the remaining £8,000 of the total £20,000 allowance reserved for investments
• Savings and Dividends: Tax rates on income from savings, property, and dividends will increase by two percentage points
• Gambling: Remote gambling taxes will increase, while bingo duty will be abolished
• Motoring: A mileage-based tax will be introduced for electric vehicles and hybrids from April 2028, and the existing freeze on fuel duty will end in September 2026. 

Spending and Welfare

• Welfare: The two-child benefit cap will be completely scrapped from April 2026, benefiting an estimated 560,000 families
• Wages and Pensions: The National Living Wage will increase to £12.71 per hour from April 2026. The state pension will rise by 4.8% under the "triple lock"
• NHS: £300 million will be invested in NHS technology, and 250 new neighbourhood health centres will be created.
  Education: £5 million is allocated for secondary school libraries, in addition to previously announced funding for primary schools
• Debt and Efficiencies: The Chancellor plans to find £4.9 billion in government efficiencies. It projects that national debt as a share of GDP will rise in the short term before falling by the end of the decade. 

Economic Forecast

The OBR has upgraded the growth forecast for 2025 to 1.5%, but downgraded predictions for subsequent years due to lower productivity growth.

Borrowing as a share of GDP is expected to fall in the long term. 

If you would like any further information, please contact your usual Dentons Wealth financial adviser.

This article does not constitute advice, and we recommend obtaining financial advice from a regulated financial adviser before making any retirement decisions.