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Autumn Budget 2026: date and what is confirmed

The Autumn Budget is on 28 October 2026, confirmed on gov.uk. What is already law, what is not yet announced, and where to check the effect on pay.

The Autumn Budget will be held on Wednesday 28 October 2026. The date was confirmed in the Chancellor’s letter to the Treasury Select Committee, published on gov.uk on 31 July 2026. The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes its economic and fiscal forecast on the same day. Nothing about the content of the Budget has been announced, and this page states only what is already law and what is already on the record. Everything else circulating about the Budget is speculation, and this page will not repeat it as though it were fact.

What is confirmed

ItemPositionSource
Budget dateWednesday 28 October 2026gov.uk, Chancellor’s letter to the Treasury Select Committee
Office for Budget Responsibility forecastPublished alongside the Budget on the same dayas above
Register for Self Assessment5 October 2026, if a return has not been sent beforegov.uk, Self Assessment deadlines
Self Assessment paper return11:59pm on 31 October 2026as above
Self Assessment, to pay through the tax code11:59pm on 30 December 2026as above
Self Assessment online return and payment11:59pm on 31 January 2027as above
Bank of England rate decisionThursday 5 November 2026, with the Monetary Policy ReportBank of England, MPC dates
Bank of England rate decisionThursday 17 December 2026as above

The Bank of England lists 4 February, 18 March and 29 April 2027 as provisional dates. Every figure and date in the table above was read on the page named beside it on 7 September 2026.

What is not yet announced

None of the following has been decided or published, and no figure for any of them should be treated as real until it appears on gov.uk.

  • The National Living Wage from April 2027. The Low Pay Commission makes its recommendation in the autumn of 2026, and the government confirms the rate afterwards. The current rate, in force from April 2026, is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, per gov.uk.
  • The April 2027 uprating of benefits and the State Pension. The triple lock uses the higher of September inflation and average earnings growth, but the figure is set out in the uprating statement, which has not been made.
  • The Plan 5 student loan repayment threshold for 2027/28.
  • Any change to income tax rates, thresholds, National Insurance, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, pension allowances or Individual Savings Account limits.

What the Budget usually changes, and where to check the effect

The Budget is the point at which the rates that drive take-home pay are set for the following year. On the day, the figures that matter most to a salaried worker are the personal allowance, the higher rate threshold, the National Insurance rates and thresholds, and any change to pension tax relief. For a parent, the High Income Child Benefit Charge thresholds matter as much, because they are decided by adjusted net income rather than salary.

The calculators on this site are updated once the rates appear on gov.uk, not before. Until then they show the 2026/27 position, which remains the law in force.

Why this page names so few numbers

A Budget preview that lists rumoured measures as though they were decided is worse than no page at all, because somebody will act on it. The rates in force are published on gov.uk and are stated across this site with the page they came from named. Anything announced on 28 October will be added here and to the calculators once it is on gov.uk, with the date of the change recorded.

What to do before 28 October

Nothing about the Budget itself, because nothing is known. Two things are worth doing anyway, and both are useful regardless of what is announced.

Check the tax code on the most recent payslip. An incorrect code costs money every month and is the most common cause of a wrong deduction; the tax code explainer decodes it.

If Child Benefit is claimed in the household and either earner is near £60,000, work out the adjusted net income figure rather than the salary. The charge is decided by the adjusted figure, and a pension contribution made before the end of the tax year on 5 April 2027 still counts for that year.