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Autumn Budget 2026
The Budget, the key fiscal event of the year, has been announced for 28 October 2026. It will not be quite a year on from the 2025 Budget statement, which was Rachel Reeves' final foray with the red briefcase. The announcements saw further freezes to tax thresholds and changes to salary sacrifice for pensions. It followed a first Budget that raised employers’ national insurance contributions and which four in ten business owners in S&W’s BOSS (Business Owners Sentiment Survey) said worsened their prospects.
With unemployment still at a high 4.9%, a significant defence black hole in the budgets from previous regimes and a commitment not to raise income tax, Burnham and Healey will have their hands somewhat tied.
Our Autumn Budget 2026 hub provides you with in-depth commentary in the run-up to the Budget and following the statement. Check back as we update this page to bring you the latest news and analysis.
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A stronger forecast from the IMF, but not a blank cheque for the Budget
The UK economy has proved more resilient than expected, according to the International Monetary Foundation’s (IMF) latest forecast ahead of the Budget. However, will the Chancellor take stock or choose to ignore the data?
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Autumn Budget 2026 predictions and speculation
All the latest reports on the changes we might see in the Autumn 2026 Budget.
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Striking a balance: Financial services and the Budget
Chancellor Jon Healey’s meeting with UK lending banks ahead of the 2026 Budget has led to widespread speculation about how the financial services sector will be impacted and to what extent. The government must decide whether it sees the sector as a cash cow or partner for growth.
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What do businesses want from the Budget?
Our 2026 Business Owners Sentiment survey reveals firms’ hopes and fears about the Autumn Budget.
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Essential steps to reindustrialisation at the Autumn Budget
If the government is serious about reindustrialisation, it must tackle high energy costs, skills shortages, investment and employment costs, says the manufacturers' organisation Make UK.
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The Budget and rural business
Ahead of this year’s Budget, rural businesses and landowners will be hoping for one overriding theme: long-term certainty that allows them to invest, plan succession and remain commercially viable.
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The manifesto that continues to tie the Chancellor
The commitment to 2024’s promises may prevent the Autumn Budget from making the changes needed if the government wants to deliver on its priorities and get the country growing.
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When is the Autumn Budget 2026? Date and Budget process explained
Learn how the budget process works, the UK’s economic policy calendar and why many think John Healey’s debut Budget as Chancellor on 28 October will, unfortunately, be more of the same.
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The Budget 2026: Where the Chancellor should look
We have a new Prime Minister and Chancellor, but they face some old problems at the Budget. Will they make the same mistakes?
Explore previous budget commentary
Access our coverage of the Autumn Budget 2025, including expert insight into the announcements, tax changes and business implications discussed at the time.
Frequently asked questions about the Budget
When is the Autumn Budget 2026?
The Chancellor John Healey has confirmed he will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday, 28 October.
What’s already been announced?
The new government has already announced several policies that may be included in the Budget or take place before it. Those include the removal of VAT from domestic electricity bills from October, a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England from April 2027, and a review of reliefs for “anti-social businesses”, such as vape shops.
What are the fiscal rules?
Andy Burnham has committed the government to upholding the fiscal rules:
- The stability rule, which is that the current Budget must be in surplus in 2029-30 and remain in balance or in surplus from the third year of the rolling forecast period
- The investment rule, that public sector net financial liabilities (debt) must be falling as a share of the economy by 2029-30 and then by the third year of the rolling forecast period
At the March Spring forecast, Reeves had over £20bn of headroom against her fiscal rules, but economic woes since then, particularly from the Iran crisis, mean this is likely to have shrunk.
How will the Budget affect me?
It is impossible to say yet where tax rises or reliefs may fall, but recent years have seen an increasing overall tax burden, and particular increases for both higher earners and businesses.
When do changes in the Budget statement take effect?
Most changes in taxes take effect on either the date of royal assent or the beginning of the next tax year (1 April for corporation tax and 6 April for income tax). Some changes, however, take effect immediately, or even retrospectively in rare cases, to frustrate efforts to avoid their impact.
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