On Wednesday 26th November 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver the Autumn Budget.

After months of speculation, the Chancellor has signalled the need for difficult choices to support public investment, suggesting that Labour’s manifesto red lines on tax may be crossed – preparing us for a potential shake-up across savings, pensions, and personal tax thresholds.

At Moneybox, we know how important these announcements are to your financial goals. As a reminder, here’s how we’ve been campaigning to date:

Our team will be watching closely as the speech is delivered. In preparation, here’s a breakdown of the key areas we believe are most likely to make headlines.

Tax: personal thresholds and ‘Stealth’ revenue

We’re expecting some of the biggest moves to target the ways that we are taxed on our earnings and wealth:

What might be announced? 

  • ‘Stealth Taxes’ via threshold freezes: the current freeze on Income Tax and NI thresholds (the point at which you pay different rates) is a known revenue-raiser. The Chancellor is expected to extend this freeze by two years beyond 2028. This ‘fiscal drag’ will silently pull more people into higher tax bands as wages rise.
  • Cutting personal tax thresholds: in addition to the stealth tax for brackets of income, the Chancellor could also look to announce cuts to personal tax thresholds – we’re expecting to see a new gambling levy and higher taxes on expensive properties as part of this proposal.
  • The two-child benefit cap: the Chancellor has indicated she will be looking to lift or adjust the two-child benefit cap. This policy change, costing around £3.5bn, is expected to lift approximately 300,000 children out of poverty.

Our take: The extension of the tax threshold freeze is most likely to change, targeting wealth using ‘stealth’ methods to raise substantial revenue without a headline-grabbing rate hike. We will be focused on providing a clear breakdown on any adjustment following the announcements on the day.

Speculation on savings and investments (ISAs)

The Individual Savings Account (ISA) wrapper remains the cornerstone of tax-efficient savings. The current annual allowance stands at £20,000, split equally across savings and investments, allowing you to choose how you divide your money

What might be announced?

  1. Cash ISA allowance: rumours surfaced earlier this year suggesting a severe cut to the allowance. Current, more robust speculation points to a clearer plan – a reduction to the overall Cash ISA limit to £12,000.
  2. The “British ISA” and UK investments: following the introduction of the new UK ISA last year, we expect more detail on how the government plans to encourage greater investment into UK-listed companies through ISAs. This may involve new incentives or minimum UK equity holding requirements for certain investment products.

Our take: we’re hoping for stability and clarity, and are preparing for a reduction to the annual Cash ISA allowance with an increased focus on incentivising investment in the UK economy.

If this is the case, exactly when any changes to the ISA allowance could come into effect, will be confirmed in due course. For now, any savings you have within a Cash ISA will be safe and protected and you can continue to utilise your £20,000 allowance.

We’ll monitor the updates as they roll in and keep you informed.

Pension policies: tax relief and salary sacrifice

Pensions are often reviewed when the government needs to raise funds, as changes can generate significant revenue. While there were some changes announced in last year’s Budget, speculation for this year is still running high.

What might be announced? 

  • Pension tax relief: Currently, pension contributions receive tax relief at your rate of income tax (20%, 40%, or 45%). There are long-running rumours that this could be ‘flattened’ to a single rate, perhaps around 25-30% for everyone. This would benefit basic-rate taxpayers but significantly reduce the benefit for higher rate payers.
  • Salary sacrifice arrangements: reports suggest that the National Insurance relief enjoyed by both employees and employers on contributions made through salary sacrifice arrangements could be scaled back or capped at £2,000 a year.

Our take: the most significant change here could be the cap on NI relief for pension contributions. We will be checking every detail to see how your savings could be affected.

The Lifetime ISA and first-time buyers

The Lifetime ISA (LISA) offers a 25% government bonus (up to £1,000 per year) to help people buy their first home or save for retirement. While there is less noise from the media or speculation here compared to other tax wrappers, the product faces ongoing challenges that the Chancellor could address in the Budget.

What might be announced? 

  • Property price cap and withdrawal penalty: the LISA faces ongoing calls for reform (namely increasing the static £450,000 property price cap and lowering the 25% withdrawal penalty). We’ve long campaigned for changes, and hope to see these two areas reviewed to bring the cap in line with house price inflation and enable penalty-free access to savings.
  • Council tax and property reforms: the government is exploring reforms to property taxes, including potentially introducing new, higher council tax bandings for more expensive homes, or increasing the rates on the top existing bands. Designed to modernise the tax system (bands are currently based on 1991 property values) and raise revenue from high-value properties.

Our take: Moneybox continues to be the voice and champion of first-time buyers, and we’ll be keeping an eye on the property price cap and withdrawal penalty. We hope the Chancellor uses this Budget to future-proof this vital product, to provide reassurance to those starting to save for a house deposit today, and ensure the LISA continues to provide invaluable support to young savers.

What you could do today

The most important thing to remember is that this is all speculation. Making decisions based on rumours could be detrimental to your long-term financial health.

However, with the possibility of changes to allowances and pension relief, here are a few proactive steps you could consider:

  • Utilise your allowances: if you have the available funds, consider whether you can utilise some of your ISA allowance (£20,000) and your annual Pension allowance.
  • Review your tax-free status: knowing what you are eligible for today is always wise – so worth familiarising yourself with the current rules on tax-free allowances.

For those considering action and if you’re unsure about how to make decisions, please seek independent financial advice.

Stay tuned: Budget day coverage

The Moneybox team will be working throughout the Budget to digest all the new information as it is announced.

We’ll be back on 26th November, cutting through the noise to give you a clear, concise summary of the confirmed announcements, and what they mean for your Moneybox products and your financial journey.