The Chancellor, John Healey, has confirmed that the next Budget will take place on Wednesday 28 October 2026. This will be his first Budget as Chancellor and will be accompanied by updated economic and fiscal forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). 

At the moment, the date is the only firm commitment. There have been no confirmed tax measures, so much of the discussion about what may be included remains media commentary and speculation rather than formal policy.

In announcing the date, the Chancellor said that the government wanted to support British businesses, jobs and skills, while working within its fiscal rules. He also referred to moving “money and power out of Westminster, and into every postcode around Britain”. 

These statements indicate the government’s broad priorities, but they don’t tell us which taxes, allowances or reliefs may change.

What are the fiscal rules?

The Chancellor has said he’ll retain the existing fiscal rules, which are intended to control borrowing and maintain confidence in the public finances. In broad terms, these rules require the government to:

– Balance day-to-day public spending with tax and other receipts by the target year, so that borrowing is not routinely used to fund ordinary public services.

– Ensure that public sector net financial liabilities are falling as a proportion of the economy by the target year. This is a broader measure than conventional public sector net debt, as it takes account of a wider range of financial assets and liabilities. 

The current target is for both rules to be met by the financial year ending March 2030. 

The rules don’t prevent all borrowing. The government can borrow for capital investment, provided it can still demonstrate that public sector financial liabilities are falling relative to the size of the economy over the medium term.

This may be relevant in the lead-up to the Budget. The government could seek to support investment in infrastructure, housing, skills or business growth while remaining within the existing fiscal framework. However, no specific measures have been confirmed, and reports of potential changes should be treated as speculation until the Budget documents are published. 

What might be announced?

There’s naturally growing interest and speculation around whether the Budget might include measures that will affect company owners, investors, employers and property owners. This is only going to increase as the date draws ever closer, and it would be easy to be swept up in the speculation and potentially make hasty decisions that could be regretted later.

At the moment we just don’t know what John Healey will come up with, so it’s important to make decisions between now and then based on your current commercial circumstances and the rules currently in force, rather than any attempt to second-guess the Chancellor.

We’ll keep you informed…

We’ll continue to monitor credible announcements in the run-up to the Autumn Budget, as always, and will share any relevant updates as they arise. We’ll also send our usual summary to our clients and contacts the morning after the Budget, once we have had the opportunity to review the content, and will keep you up to date on the primary news and announcements. 

If you have any specific concerns in the meantime, or would like to discuss how any of the potential changes may affect your business or personal plans, please get in touch. We’re very happy to discuss potential implications if it would be helpful, pending the final detail.