Autumn Budget 2025 - key tax announcements

The speculation surrounding the Autumn Budget 2025 has been as feverish (if not more so) than that leading up to last year’s budget. It had been expected that last year’s budget would be the primary tax-raising fiscal event of this parliament, with future budgets focusing on less significant measures. However, the prospect of a disappointing growth forecast and reports of a black hole in the public finances caused general expectation that further, significant, tax-raising measures would be announced today, 26 November 2025.

CMS Law-Now

27 November 2025

Such speculation had time to grow in intensity, given that the budget has been held relatively late in the year. During this lengthy period, there have been reports of “all but certain” tax increases, and not long afterwards, reports of U-turns on the same. Varying reports of the size of the black hole in the public finances and expected growth forecasts appear to have been the reason behind such reversals.In the few days leading up to the budget, speculation began to settle on a few significant tax-raising measures. As such, some, though not all, of the key announcements set out below had been widely anticipated.A summary of the principal changes in today’s budget announcements, both headline-grabbing announcements and technical developments, follows.

Key tax increases – an overview

Amongst the announcements today were the following key measures:

Income tax thresholds frozen;
Increase in income tax rates on dividends, savings and property income;
Decrease in the limit for investment in cash ISAs;
Introduction of a “mansion tax” – the High Value Council Tax Surcharge;
Introduction of NICs on pension contributions by way of salary sacrifice exceeding £2,000;
Restriction of capital gains tax relief on disposal of shares to employee ownership trusts;
Gambling tax increases;
Change to the VAT treatment relating to private hire vehicle fares.

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