Autumn Budget 2026: what it means for your household, from energy bills to pensions

The changes at a glance

The Budget document says it "rejects broad-based tax rises": there is no increase to the headline rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT. Most of the household measures are about energy and motoring costs, paid for in part by higher tax on banks, savings income and property income.

Each change below says who it affects and when it starts. Many don't arrive until 2027 or later, so nothing changes on most bills straight away.

Energy bills

A £100 Household Energy Payment. Up to 20 million households in council tax bands A to D in England will get a £100 payment from January 2027. The Budget says it will be paid directly into bank accounts, delivered by councils through the council tax system; your council will confirm how it is paid. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments get a share of the funding to provide similar support. The government is also giving councils in England £100 million for further help for households hit hardest by energy bills, including some in bands above D.

Expect scam texts and emails about the £100 payment. The Budget doesn't ask anyone to apply for it, so never give your bank details or click a link in a message offering it; check your council's own website instead.

Cheaper electricity until July. The 0% rate of VAT on household electricity in Great Britain, which started on 1 October 2026, is extended to 1 July 2027. The Treasury expects it to take about £50 off the annual price cap figure from April 2027; the extension itself covers three months, April to June. In Northern Ireland, the Executive gets funding for comparable support, with the relief expected to apply from April 2027.

Gas standing charges scrapped. The government has asked Ofgem to remove standing charges from household gas bills in Great Britain, aiming for the end of 2027 or as soon as possible after. The charge is about £108 a year for a typical home; under Ofgem's current price cap it averages 29.68p a day. The cost moves into the price per unit of gas, so homes that use less gas pay less. The Treasury estimates around 60% of households with a gas account could save, by an average of about £45 a year. Because the cost moves into the unit rate, homes that use the most gas could pay more; the government says it will set out "targeted mitigation for a small number of households". Electricity standing charges will be reformed too, with details next year.

Energy debt. A new strategy for Great Britain, including a one-off targeted debt relief scheme for eligible households, is expected to save a typical household almost £30 by 2030. The government also says no new policy costs will be added to bills until a new Cost Control Framework is in place in 2027, and it has scrapped a planned new tax on gas bills (the Gas Shipper Obligation).

Fuel, driving and travel

Fuel duty cut extended. The temporary 5p a litre cut in fuel duty, due to end in January, now runs to 1 July 2027, and the planned inflation (RPI) increase is pushed back to the same date. The Budget notes diesel went above £2 a litre in October 2026. The 3.7p cut to red diesel duty is extended to 1 July 2027 as well.

Mileage rates. The temporary 55p a mile tax-free rate for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van becomes permanent, and the rate above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p from April 2027. The Treasury says someone driving 6,000 business miles saves £120 a year in tax.

£2 bus fares. Single bus fares in England outside London will be capped at £2 for a year from 1 January 2027.

Electric cars. £100 million over two years will cut the cost of local, lower-powered public chargers in Great Britain from spring 2027, worth around £150 a year to a driver without home charging who charges on the street. The new pay-per-mile Electric Vehicle Excise Duty, announced last year, still starts in April 2028.

Pay and work

Minimum wage. From 1 April 2027 the National Living Wage rises 3.9% to £13.21 an hour, about £910 a year more before tax for a full-time worker. The rate for 18 to 20-year-olds rises 3.9% to £11.27.

Side incomes. The Trading Allowance, the amount you can earn from small self-employed or side income without paying tax on it, triples from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027.

Carers. People on Carer's Allowance in England and Wales will no longer lose the whole benefit for earning a penny over the weekly limit: a taper will reduce it gradually instead. It is due during 2030-31, once a new IT system is ready.

Universal Credit. The £2,500 surplus earnings threshold is kept for another year from 1 April 2027 for claimants in Great Britain.

Pensions

The triple lock until 2029. The State Pension will keep rising each year by the highest of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth up to April 2029. The government says that raises the annual full new State Pension by more than £2,000 over the course of this Parliament.

A changed triple lock from April 2030. From April 2030 the State Pension will rise each year by the highest of 2.5%, inflation, or the amount needed to keep its value relative to earnings at the level reached in April 2029. In practice it will track earnings rather than moving ahead of them. The Treasury estimates this cuts State Pension spending by £15 billion a year by the late 2030s, and says the savings will help fund free personal care and a National Care Service in England.

No small tax bills for pensioners on the State Pension. A new Pension Tax Allowance from April 2027 means pensioners whose total income is no more than the full new State Pension won't be brought into paying tax because the State Pension has risen. It runs to April 2030.

Pension death benefits. The "two-year rule" in the taxation of pension and lump sum death benefits is removed from 28 October 2026.

Savings and tax

No rise in the headline rates. Income tax, National Insurance and VAT rates are unchanged.

Tax on savings interest goes up, again. Last year's Budget had already set the tax rates on savings income to rise by 2 percentage points in April 2027. This Budget adds another 2 points. So from 6 April 2027, interest above your tax-free allowances will be taxed at 24% for basic rate taxpayers, 44% at the higher rate and 49% at the additional rate, across the UK. Today the rates are 20%, 40% and 45%.

It only bites on interest above your allowances: the Personal Savings Allowance is £1,000 of interest a year for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers, and money in ISAs stays tax-free. The Budget says a basic rate taxpayer would need over £25,000 in savings outside an ISA before paying any tax on the interest.

Cash ISAs stay at £20,000. The government has decided not to reduce the cash ISA limit, which stays at £20,000 a year.

Landlords. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, property income gets its own tax rates from 6 April 2027. Last year's Budget set them at 22%, 42% and 47%; this Budget raises them 2 points further, to 24%, 44% and 49%.

Buying a home

Your First Home. A new £4.7 billion scheme from April 2027 will offer 20% equity loans to around 70,000 first-time buyers in England, with household income caps of £110,000 outside London and £140,000 in London, and price caps set by local area.

Lifetime ISA. From 29 October 2026, the withdrawal charge falls from 25% to 20% for first-time buyers buying a home above the £450,000 price cap. From April 2029 a new First Time Buyer ISA replaces the Lifetime ISA for new savers.

High-value homes. The details of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge in England, including deferrals, discounts and exemptions, are confirmed for April 2028. It only applies to high-value properties.

Families and everyday costs

Food prices. From 26 November 2026, import tariffs will be suspended on 101 more food products, from baked beans and plant-based drinks to dried fruit and chocolate, until 31 December 2028. Together with June's package, the Treasury expects this to cut consumer costs by £245 million to £595 million.

Heating oil. Tariffs on kerosene heating oil will be suspended from 26 November 2026 until 31 December 2028, which helps homes that heat with oil, many of them in rural areas and Northern Ireland.

Parental pay. From April 2029, eligible self-employed fathers, partners and adopters in Great Britain will be able to get parental pay for the first time.

Student loans. Interest on Plan 2 and Plan 3 student loans is capped at 6% until 31 August 2027.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Several of the headline measures are for England only. The £100 Household Energy Payment, the £2 bus fare cap, the Your First Home scheme and the High Value Council Tax Surcharge apply in England. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments get extra funding through the Barnett formula, which the Budget says will let them provide similar support; it doesn't say they will run the same £100 payment, so watch for their own announcements.

The Budget puts the extra Barnett funding from all its decisions at £1.3 billion between 2026-27 and 2029-30: £600 million for the Scottish Government, £450 million for the Welsh Government and £270 million for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The 0% VAT on electricity covers Great Britain; in Northern Ireland, comparable support is expected from April 2027. Removing gas standing charges and the energy debt strategy cover Great Britain. The fuel duty cut, the National Living Wage, the mileage rates, the food and heating oil tariff suspensions and the higher tax on savings interest apply across the UK. The new property income rates apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland isn't covered by that change.

What it means in pounds: five examples

These are our worked examples using the Budget's own figures; your own amounts will depend on your bills, income and where you live.

A pensioner couple in a band C home in England, heated by gas. They get the £100 Household Energy Payment from January 2027 and the electricity VAT cut, expected to take about £50 off the annual price cap figure from April 2027. If they use less gas than average, scrapping the standing charge should cut their gas bill from the end of 2027 at the earliest. Their State Pension keeps rising under the triple lock to 2029, and if their income is no more than the full new State Pension, the new Pension Tax Allowance means no small tax bills from April 2027.

A renting family with two children, one parent working full-time on the National Living Wage, band B in England, no car. The rise to £13.21 an hour from April 2027 is worth about £910 a year before tax. They also get the £100 payment and the electricity VAT cut, and from January 2027 their single bus fares are capped at £2 if they live outside London.

Someone who drives 6,000 business miles a year in their own car. The higher tax-free mileage rate saves them about £120 a year, and the 5p fuel duty cut stays until 1 July 2027 instead of ending in January.

A basic rate taxpayer with £40,000 in a savings account outside an ISA, earning 4% interest. That's £1,600 of interest a year. The first £1,000 is tax-free under the Personal Savings Allowance, leaving £600 taxed. At today's 20% that's £120 a year; at the 24% due from April 2027 it's £144, so £24 a year more, half of it from this Budget and half from last year's.

A basic rate landlord in England with £10,000 of rental profit. Before any other reliefs, tax at today's 20% is £2,000; at the 24% property rate from April 2027 it's £2,400, so £400 a year more, again half from each Budget.

What happens next

Most of the tax changes will be written into law through the Finance Bill 2026-27, and the government says it will shortly bring forward an Energy Independence Bill for some of the energy measures.

Ofgem now has to work out how gas standing charges will be removed, and the government will set out the targeted help for households who would otherwise pay more. Details of electricity standing charge reform are due next year.

The dates to put in the diary: the Lifetime ISA charge change from 29 October 2026; the £100 Household Energy Payment and the £2 bus fare cap from January 2027; the minimum wage, savings tax, property tax and Trading Allowance changes from April 2027; and 1 July 2027, when the fuel duty cut and the 0% VAT on electricity are due to end.

The bigger picture: prices this winter

The Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast, published alongside the Budget, explains why so much of the help is about energy. It expects inflation to rise to a quarterly peak of about 3¾% in early 2027, driven by higher energy prices, and then fall back to 2% in 2028 as energy prices drop.

Its central forecast has the Ofgem price cap peaking at around £1,875 a year for a typical home in January to March 2027. It also notes that forecasts based on more recent energy market prices put that peak nearer £2,150, so the January cap could come in higher than the OBR's own figure.

Who gains most

The Treasury's own analysis, published with the Budget, says households in the lowest income groups gain most from this Budget's decisions in 2027-28, and that the tax increases fall mostly on the highest-income households. We'll add independent analysis when it is published.

Much of the help is temporary: the electricity VAT cut and the fuel duty cut both end on 1 July 2027 unless they are extended again, and the £100 payment is a single payment.