Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her second Budget on Wednesday 26 November, setting out a package pitched at cutting living costs while strengthening the public finances. The day was overshadowed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) accidentally making its forecast live early, prompting an apology after brief market moves in sterling and gilts.

Headline tax decisions do most of the fiscal lifting. Personal income tax thresholds and employer National Insurance thresholds are held in cash terms for a further three years to April 2031. Alongside that freeze, taxes on income from assets rise: dividend tax rates increase by two percentage points for the basic and higher bands from April 2026; savings income rates rise by two points from April 2027; and rental profits move onto distinct property rates of 22%, 42% and 47% from April 2027.

Property wealth is asked to contribute more. A High Value Council Tax Surcharge will apply in England from April 2028 to homes valued at £2 million or above. Charges start at £2,500 a year and rise to £7,500 for properties over £5 million; ministers say fewer than 1% of homes will be in scope.

Cashflow support is staggered into next year. The Treasury says average household energy bills will fall by around £150 from April 2026 as legacy policy costs are taken off bills. Regulated rail fares in England are frozen for a year from March 2026, saving typical season‑ticket commuters up to about £300 on pricier routes, while NHS prescription charges stay at £9.90 for a year. Fuel duty remains frozen until 31 August 2026, before stepped increases through March 2027.

Welfare changes are material. The two‑child limit in Universal Credit is removed from April 2026, a move the government argues will lift around 450,000 children out of poverty once fully rolled out and is funded alongside fraud/error reductions and benefit integrity measures.

Motoring taxes are modernised for the EV era. From April 2028, a new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty adds a per‑mile charge for electric and plug‑in hybrid cars. The government’s worked example points to roughly £240 a year for an average EV driver, with no requirement to track where or when miles are driven.

For businesses, allowances and rates shift. From April 2026 the main writing‑down allowance falls to 14%, but a new 40% first‑year allowance is introduced for main‑rate assets; 100% first‑year allowances for zero‑emission cars and for EV chargepoints are extended to 2027. Business rates are rebalanced from April 2026: two permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure under a £500,000 rateable value, plus a new high‑value multiplier of 50.8p for larger premises, with a three‑year transitional relief package.

Other revenue measures include a sharp rise in online gambling duties: Remote Gaming Duty increases to 40% from April 2026 and a new 25% Remote Betting Rate starts in April 2027 (with remote horseracing bets excluded), while Bingo Duty is abolished. Alcohol duty rises with RPI from 1 February 2026; tobacco duties also increase.

Savers and pension planners get rule changes rather than giveaways. From April 2027 the cash ISA sub‑limit is set at £12,000 within the unchanged £20,000 annual ISA allowance, the £5,000 Starting Rate for Savings is held to 2031, and the government will consult on a simpler first‑time buyer ISA replacement. From April 2029, NIC relief on salary‑sacrificed pension contributions is capped at £2,000 a year.

The OBR’s new forecast frames the macro picture. It now projects real GDP growth averaging around 1.5% a year over the next five years, with inflation taking a year longer than previously expected to return to 2%. Borrowing falls to roughly 2% of GDP by 2029‑30, the tax‑to‑GDP ratio rises above 38% by decade‑end, and debt peaks near 97% of GDP before easing to about 96% in 2030‑31. The Chancellor’s margin against the current budget rule in 2029‑30 is around £22bn.

Markets took notice of the early‑posted OBR document before the Budget speech, with the pound and UK government bonds moving higher briefly. The watchdog removed the file and apologised, and an investigation has been promised.

For planning, we read the numbers this way: a basic‑rate landlord with £12,000 of annual rental profit faces roughly £240 extra tax from 2027 under the 22% property rate; a company director drawing £10,000 of dividends above the allowance pays about £200 more from 2026 after the two‑point rise; and an EV driver doing 10,000 miles should budget around £240 a year from 2028. Retail and hospitality SMEs should model 2026‑27 business rates using the lower sector multipliers and check eligibility for transitional support.