Autumn Budget 2026: what it means for your take-home pay
The Budget on 28 October 2026 kept income tax and National Insurance on earnings the same for 2027/28, so on an unchanged salary most employees will see no change in take-home pay from April 2027: £35,000 still leaves £28,720 a year in England. The changes are to tax on savings and property income, the trading allowance, the minimum wage and, for Plan 1 borrowers, student loan repayments.
What changes on 6 April 2027
| 2026/27 | 2027/28 | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Allowance | £12,570 | £12,570 | Frozen until April 2031 |
| Higher rate (40%) starts | £50,271 | £50,271 | Frozen until April 2031 |
| Additional rate (45%) starts | over £125,140 | over £125,140 | Unchanged |
| Income tax on pay (England, Wales, NI) | 20% / 40% / 45% | 20% / 40% / 45% | Unchanged |
| Employee National Insurance | 8% / 2% | 8% / 2% | Unchanged |
| Employer National Insurance | 15% over £5,000 | 15% over £5,000 | Unchanged |
| NI lower earnings limit | £129 a week | £133 a week | Announced |
| Savings interest rates | 20%, 40% and 45% | 24%, 44% and 49% | Announced |
| Property income rates (England, Wales, NI) | Main rates (20%, 40%, 45%) | 24%, 44% and 49% | Announced |
| Dividend rates | 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% | 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% | Unchanged |
| Trading allowance | £1,000 | £3,000 | Announced |
| Plan 1 student loan threshold | £26,900 | £28,005 | Confirmed |
| Plan 2 student loan threshold | £29,385 | £29,385 | Frozen |
| Plan 4, Plan 5, postgraduate thresholds | £33,795, £25,000, £21,000 | Not announced yet | — |
| National Living Wage (21 and over) | £12.71 from 1 April 2026 | £13.21 from 1 April 2027 | Announced |
| Scottish income tax | Six bands, 19% to 48% | Not set yet | Scottish Budget |
Take-home pay before and after, by salary
| Salary | Take-home 2026/27 | Take-home 2027/28 | Change a year | With a Plan 1 loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £17,919.60 | £17,919.60 | No change | No change |
| £25,000 | £21,519.60 | £21,519.60 | No change | No change |
| £30,000 | £25,119.60 | £25,119.60 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £35,000 | £28,719.60 | £28,719.60 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £40,000 | £32,319.60 | £32,319.60 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £45,000 | £35,919.60 | £35,919.60 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £50,000 | £39,519.60 | £39,519.60 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £60,000 | £45,357.40 | £45,357.40 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £75,000 | £54,057.40 | £54,057.40 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £100,000 | £68,557.40 | £68,557.40 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £125,000 | £78,057.40 | £78,057.40 | No change | +£100.00 |
| £150,000 | £91,286.40 | £91,286.40 | No change | +£100.00 |
On the same salary, take-home pay in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is identical in both years because every allowance, band, rate and threshold that applies to earnings is unchanged. The one change on a typical payslip is for Plan 1 student loans: the threshold rises from £26,900 to £28,005, so a borrower earning more than that repays about £100 a year less.
The Personal Allowance and the higher rate threshold are frozen until 5 April 2031, so a pay rise is taxed at the same rates and more of it can fall into the 40% band over time. Use the pay rise calculator to see how much of a rise you keep, or the 2027/28 salary calculator for a full breakdown.
Minimum wage from 1 April 2027
| Rate | From 1 April 2026 | From 1 April 2027 | Rise | Extra take-home a month (37.5 h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Living Wage (21 and over) | £12.71 | £13.21 | +£0.50 (3.9%) | £58.50 |
| Age 18 to 20 | £10.85 | £11.27 | +£0.42 (3.9%) | £49.14 |
| Under 18 | £8.00 | £8.31 | +£0.31 (3.9%) | £36.27 |
| Apprentice | £8.00 | £8.31 | +£0.31 (3.9%) | £36.27 |
The government accepted the Low Pay Commission's recommendations in full: every rate rises by 3.9%. On a 37.5-hour week the National Living Wage is worth £975 more a year before tax (£910 on the 35-hour week the Budget uses). See the minimum wage calculator.
Savings and property income: 4 points more from April 2027
Budget 2025 had already legislated a 2-point rise in the tax rates on savings interest and property income from April 2027. Budget 2026 adds another 2 points, so from 6 April 2027 savings interest above your allowances is taxed at 24%, 44% and 49% (it is 20%, 40% and 45% now) across the UK. Rental and other property income in England, Wales and Northern Ireland moves to its own rates of 24%, 44% and 49%; the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd can set their own property rates.
| Salary | Savings interest | Tax on the interest 2026/27 | 2027/28 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £2,000 | £200.00 | £240.00 | +£40.00 |
| £30,000 | £5,000 | £800.00 | £960.00 | +£160.00 |
| £60,000 | £2,000 | £600.00 | £660.00 | +£60.00 |
| £60,000 | £5,000 | £1,800.00 | £1,980.00 | +£180.00 |
| £150,000 | £2,000 | £900.00 | £980.00 | +£80.00 |
The allowances do not change: the £5,000 starting rate for savings (for people with little other income) and the Personal Savings Allowance of £1,000 for basic-rate and £500 for higher-rate taxpayers. Interest inside an ISA stays tax-free, and the cash ISA limit stays at £20,000: the government decided not to reduce it. Each £100 of taxable interest costs £4 more than it does now.
Side income: trading allowance rises to £3,000
From 6 April 2027 the first £3,000 of trading or miscellaneous income (for example selling things you make or doing odd jobs) is tax-free, up from £1,000, and you will not need to report it if your gross income from it is no more than that. You use the allowance instead of claiming expenses. With £2,500 of side income and no expenses, the income tax on it falls from £300 to £0 for a basic-rate taxpayer, and from £600 to £0 for a higher-rate taxpayer.
Pensions
- Salary sacrifice: no new change. The cap announced in Budget 2025 is already law: from 6 April 2029, salary sacrificed into a pension above £2,000 a year will pay employee and employer National Insurance. Income tax relief is not affected, and nothing changes before then. See the salary sacrifice calculator.
- Pension Tax Allowance: from 6 April 2027, people over State Pension age whose total income is no more than the full new State Pension (£13,036.40 in 2027/28) will not pay income tax. The reduction, worth up to £94, tapers away by £13,319. It is due to be legislated in Finance Bill 2026-27. The calculators apply it when you tick "Over State Pension age" and choose 2027/28.
- The pension annual allowance (£60,000) and the other pension allowances are unchanged.
Scotland and Wales
Income tax on earnings in Scotland is set by the Scottish Parliament in the Scottish Budget, not by the UK Budget. The 2027/28 Scottish rates and bands have not been announced. Until they are, 2027/28 figures for Scotland on this site use the 2026/27 Scottish bands and say so. National Insurance, student loans and the savings rates are UK-wide. Welsh rates are set by the Senedd; they have always matched the rates in England so far, and our 2027/28 figures assume they still will.
Other changes you may notice
- Tax-free mileage payments for business journeys in your own car or van rise from 25p to 35p a mile for miles above 10,000 a year, from 6 April 2027.
- Child Benefit rises to £28.00 a week for the eldest or only child and £18.55 for each other child in 2027/28.
- From April 2028 you will be able to claim more than £2,500 of unreimbursed work expenses through PAYE, without a Self Assessment return.
- The Lifetime ISA withdrawal charge for buying a home above the £450,000 price cap falls from 25% to 20% from 29 October 2026. A new First Time Buyer ISA replaces the Lifetime ISA for new savers from April 2029.
Sources
- Budget 2026 document and Overview of tax legislation and rates, with Annex A: rates and allowances (HM Treasury and HMRC, 28 October 2026)
- Income Tax: changes to tax rates for property and savings income (HMRC)
- LPC recommendations take the National Living Wage to £13.21 (Low Pay Commission)
- Pension Tax Allowance explainer (HM Treasury)
- National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Act 2026
- Student loans interest rates and repayment threshold announcement (Student Loans Company, 10 August 2026)
FAQ
Did the Autumn Budget 2026 change income tax?
Not on earnings. The £12,570 Personal Allowance, the bands and the 20%, 40% and 45% rates are the same in 2027/28 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Tax on savings interest rises to 24%, 44% and 49% from 6 April 2027, and property income gets its own rates of 24%, 44% and 49%.
Will my take-home pay change in April 2027?
Not if your salary stays the same and you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. It changes if you get a pay rise, repay a Plan 1 student loan (the threshold rises to £28,005), are paid the minimum wage (£13.21 an hour for 21 and over from 1 April 2027), or are over State Pension age with income just above the Personal Allowance.
Is the rise in savings tax 2 or 4 percentage points?
4 in total from April 2027, compared with 2026/27. Budget 2025 legislated a 2-point rise (to 22%, 42% and 47%) and Budget 2026 adds 2 more, giving 24%, 44% and 49%. The Personal Savings Allowance and the starting rate for savings do not change.
What does the Budget mean for Scottish taxpayers?
The UK Budget does not set Scottish income tax on earnings. The Scottish Parliament will set the 2027/28 rates in the Scottish Budget; they have not been announced yet. National Insurance, student loans and the savings rates are the same as elsewhere in the UK.
When do the changes start?
Most on 6 April 2027, the start of the 2027/28 tax year. The minimum wage rises on 1 April 2027, the Lifetime ISA change applied from 29 October 2026, the employment expenses change starts in April 2028 and the salary sacrifice National Insurance cap on 6 April 2029.