Legal News | 26.11.25

Fiscal blackholes and Budget revelations

Today, the Chancellor delivered the Autumn Budget 2025. After months of speculation and rumour (including the remarkable publication of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s accompanying fiscal report some hours before the Budget), we finally have more clarity.

At Wansbroughs, we continue to digest the detail of today’s announcements and what they mean for our private clients, the most important of which include the following:

• Income tax: the Government is maintaining income tax thresholds (and the equivalent NICs thresholds for employees and self-employed individuals) at their current levels for a further three years to April 2031. However, the Chancellor believes it unfair that different types of income are taxed at such differing rates and therefore proposes to increase the rates of income tax applicable to dividends by 2% from April 2026 (although the additional rate will remain unchanged) and savings income by 2% from 2027. The Government will also create separate tax rates for income from letting land and buildings. From April 2027, new ‘property income’ tax rates will be introduced;
• Council Tax (the ‘Higher Value Surcharge’): from April 2028, owners (rather than occupiers) of properties identified as being valued at over £2 million (based on 2026 prices) will be liable for a recurring annual charge which will be in addition to an existing Council Tax liability. Properties above the £2 million threshold will be placed into bands based on their value (ranging from a £2,500 annual rate for properties worth between £2m-£2.5m to a £7,500 rate for properties worth over £5m). Charges will increase in line with CPI inflation each year from 2029-30 onwards;
• Inheritance tax: for those owning farms and trading businesses, this Budget may be defined more by what it does not say than what it does. For those hoping for a significant reprieve from the Chancellor in relation to the upcoming changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) from inheritance tax, this Budget will come as a disappointment. The ￡1 million allowance for the 100% rate of APR and BPR will, however, be transferable between spouses and civil partners (something professional bodies have been calling for ever since the changes were announced and is a welcome amendment);
• ISAs: from 6 April 2027 the annual ISA cash limit will be set at £12,000 (for those aged under 65) within the overall annual ISA limit of £20,000. Annual subscription limits will remain at £20,000 until 2031/2.

As always, the devil will be in the detail and we may not know the economic impact of the above changes for years to come.

If you are concerned about what impact this Budget will have on you or your loved ones, please contact the Private Client team for further advice at: wealth@wansbroughs.com.