Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her second Budget, outlining a wide range of tax and spending decisions for the years ahead. Several proposals were confirmed early after the Office for Budget Responsibility mistakenly released its forecasts, but the final statement set out the complete package. The government will continue freezing National Insurance and income tax thresholds until 2031, pulling more earners into higher brackets. Changes to savings and investment rules were also confirmed, including caps on cash ISA deposits and higher taxes on dividends and savings income.

Households will see adjustments to welfare, wages and pensions, with the minimum wage rising again and the “two-child limit” on Universal Credit scrapped from next April. State pensions will increase by 4.8% under the triple lock, and the Help to Save scheme will be extended. In housing, properties over £2 million in England will face a new council tax supplement, while landlords will pay more tax on rental income from 2027.

Transport measures include an extended freeze to fuel duty until late 2026, before staged rises resume, and a new per-mile tax for electric vehicles from 2028. A freeze on regulated rail fares in England will take effect next year. Business taxes are set for reform too, with gambling duties rising sharply, employers’ NI thresholds fixed until 2031, and customs relief removed for low-value overseas parcels.

Further steps include removing green energy levies from household bills, widening the sugary drinks tax to cover bottled milkshakes and coffee drinks, and raising tobacco and alcohol duties. Additional funding will be provided for school libraries, playground upgrades, and NHS prescription charges will remain frozen. The government also confirmed that compensation payments related to the infected blood scandal will be exempt from inheritance tax.