Autumn Budget 2026: What could it mean for your personal tax?

As is tradition here at Gravita, we do like to think about what the contents of an upcoming Budget might be.  Again, this government have been rather less loose lipped about what they are planning to do than the previous government was, and in fact our new Chancellor seems adamant that his first Budget should be a surprise, rather than a forgone conclusion.

We do know that there will be a range of measures designed to ease the cost-of-living issues many have been facing, as well as giving more power to local mayors over their finances. Those have already been announced. But the big question will surely be “How are we going to pay for it?” and “What does that mean for taxes?”

At the moment, we do not know, that is something we need to wait for until 28^th October, and so anything at this point is speculation.

What are people most concerned about?

There was a lot of speculation over the Summer about substantial Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) reform – from abolishing SDLT altogether and replacing it with an annual property tax, to reducing thresholds. So far, this has not come to pass, but that could still feature in the upcoming Budget.

This time last year, many were convinced that there would be an Exit Tax introduced for those leaving the UK – something that already happens to companies. That did not happen then, but it is still a hot topic that people are thinking about. Of course, we have no idea what it would look like if introduced, or when it would apply from, but given the potential implications, we assume that this is the sort of measure that would need to be introduced immediately after any announcement to avoid an exodus by those already planning to leave the UK at some point who hope to escape it. If it were to be introduced, it is unlikely anyone would be given any advanced warning.

A common theme before any Budget is what will happen to Capital Gains Tax and whether the government may align this with income tax as has often been feared.  Again, this is possible, but we simply do not know.

What would people like to see?

Many would like to see the reversal of the Business Property Relief (BPR) and Agricultural Property Relief (APR) measures which were introduced in April. This have been hugely unpopular and a government that U -turns on this would be likely to win favour with the business and farming communities.

The changes to the IHT charge on pensions which could result in a 68% effective tax rate on undrawn pensions have been equally unpopular. These are not due to be introduced until next April and so, presumably could be easy to stop from going ahead, if the government so chose. Even if they do not stop it, there is a universal cry from advisors in both the tax and financial planning professions for the rules to be simplified.

Finally, simplification is a key issue for many. The UK’s tax legislation has never been simple, but now more than ever it seems as though there are complexities that really should not be there, and which, if dealt with, could save the government (and therefore the taxpayer) time and money. Perhaps someone will revisit this issue, for example, in relation to the High Income Child Benefits Charge, which has always seemed more onerous than the income it must provide warrants. Maybe this is just wishful thinking!

At this point, we just do not know, and like everyone else, we are going to have to wait a few more weeks to find out, unless the government starts talking soon!