26/11/2025
2025 BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS (there's a lot!)
· Tax rate on dividends, rental income and savings interest to increase by 2%.
· Removal of 2 child benefit cap from April 2026.
· No rises to National Insurance or VAT.
· Increase in National Minimum Wage from April 2026 to £12.71 for over 21s, £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds and £8 for under 18s and apprentices.
· Tax thresholds for personal tax and National Insurance to remain frozen for another 3 years until 30/31 so more tax and NI paid as wages continue to rise.
· New mileage based charge on electric (3p pm) and hybrid cars (1.5p pm) from 2028.
· National Insurance payable on salary sacrifice pension contributions above £2,000 from April 2029 in line with other employee pension contributions.
· Increase in tax compliance and debt collection by HMRC.
· Increases in fuel duty from October 2026
· State pension increase of £440 per year for basic state pension and £575 for new state pension.
· Student loan repayment threshold to be frozen for 3 years.
· Youth guarantee to try and guarantee every young person a place in college, an apprenticeship or job support to include funding to make training costs for apprentices under 25 free for small and medium businesses. After 18 months, 18 to 21 year olds offered paid work instead of benefits.
· Abolish voluntary class 2 NI contributions for people living abroad, increasing the contributions they must pay to be entitled to the state pension.
· Changes to taxation of gambling – online gaming duty increasing from 21% to 40% and online betting from 15% to 25%. No changes to in person gambling or horse racing and Bingo Duty to be abolished.
· Council tax surcharge on properties worth over £2m (£2,500 per year) and £5m (£7,500 per year).
· Full £20,000 ISA allowances remain but £8,000 must be investment ISAs for under 65s rather than all in cash ISAs
· Lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties funded by higher rates on properties worth more than £500k (such as online retail warehouses).
· Average annual energy bill to be cut by £150 from April by reducing levies.
· Relief on Capital Gains Tax on business sales to employee ownership trusts to be reduced from 100% to 50%.
· Luxury cars removed from Motability scheme.
· Extending the bus fare cap and freezing rail fares and prescription charges.
