Autumn Budget 2025: What It Means for You and Your Business

The 2025 Autumn Budget has now been delivered by Rachel Reeves, bringing a series of tax changes and structural reforms that will affect individuals, property owners, and owner-managed businesses across the UK.

After the OBR leak of the Budget (arguably the biggest ‘spoiler alert’ in fiscal history) most of today’s announcements simply confirmed what the leaks had already told us.

Below is our summary of what’s changed, and what it means in practice.

Income Tax & Personal Allowances
The Government has once again opted not to raise headline tax rates, but has extended the freeze on income tax thresholds all the way to 2030/31. While this can sound irrelevant at first glance, the reality is that fiscal drag will affect a significant number of taxpayers.

As wages increase with inflation, more individuals will gradually be pushed into higher tax bands without any change to their real income. This quiet but powerful mechanism means higher overall tax bills for many people and a gradual reduction in net income.

Minimum Wage
From April 2026, the statutory minimum wage levels will increase. The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over will be £12.71 per hour, the rate for 18–20 year-olds will be £10.85, and the apprentice and under-18 rate will be £8.00. This follows the Government’s previously announced pathway for increasing statutory pay rates across all age bands.

Dividend, Savings & Investment Taxes
One of the most notable areas of change this year is the increase in tax on investment income. Dividend tax will rise by 2% from April 2026, which will directly affect many business owners who draw most of their remuneration through dividends.

There will also be a 2% rise in tax on savings and property income from April 2027. Landlords and individuals with investment portfolios will notice higher tax bills in the coming years, which may make certain investment strategies less attractive.

Pension Salary-Sacrifice Cap
From 2029, pension contributions made through salary sacrifice will attract National Insurance on amounts over £2,000 per year. This represents a significant shift in policy direction, and it will reduce the tax advantages of making large pension contributions this way. Directors who have been using pension planning as a strategic remuneration tool will need to revisit their long-term approach, as the benefit of high annual contributions will be diluted once the NI charge applies.

ISA Changes
From April 2027, the annual Cash ISA allowance will be reduced from £20,000 to £12,000. The overall allowance, however, remains at £20,000, but only £12,000 of it can now be held in cash – meaning savers who previously parked the full allowance may now need to use a Stocks & Shares or other ISA to shelter the remainder. Importantly, over-65s are exempt from this reform and will retain access to the full £20,000 cash allowance.

High-Value Property Surcharge
From 2028, homes valued above £2 million will attract an annual surcharge. New charges will start at £2,500 per year for properties above £2 million, rising to £7,500 per year for properties valued above £5 million. These charges apply in addition to standard council tax. This will be officially named the High Value Council Tax Surcharge.

Electric Vehicles: New Pay-Per-Mile Taxation
The Budget also confirmed a major change to the way electric and hybrid vehicles will be taxed in the future. From April 2028, fully electric vehicles will be subject to a pay-per-mile road-use levy of three pence per mile, while plug-in hybrids will be charged one and a half pence per mile. This will sit on top of standard Vehicle Excise Duty rather than replacing it.

Business & Growth Measures
There were a number of measures designed to support investment and growth, although they were smaller in scale compared with the fiscal-raising policies. Most notably, the Government has introduced a three year relief from the 0.5% stamp duty reserve tax charge on share transfers for companies listing on a UK regulated market. This is intended to encourage more companies to list domestically and stimulate activity in UK markets.

Additionally, fuel duty is being kept lower in the short term by extending the 5p cut to 31st August 2026, which offers some temporary relief to those with significant transport needs.

What This Means for Owner-Managed Businesses
The recurring theme throughout this Budget is a rise in taxation through incremental adjustments rather than dramatic changes to headline rates. For owner-managed businesses, this will require a renewed focus on remuneration planning, investment strategy, savings structures, and cashflow management. The introduction of the high-value property surcharge and the new EV mileage tax both signal an increasing emphasis on ongoing annual taxation rather than one-off charges.

Do let us know if you’d like to discuss any of these changes in more detail.

If you want some additional reading, here are the official releases:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document/budget-2025-html
https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2025/