Autumn Budget 2026: changes for buyers, landlords and savers

On 28 October 2026 the Chancellor, John Healey, presented his first Autumn Budget. Below we go through the changes that matter most to our clients: first-time buyers, people with a mortgage, landlords and savers, and then, more briefly, the rest of the package. This is general information based on the government’s Budget documents, not individual advice. Many measures still need legislation or detailed rules, which we point out where it matters.

What are the main changes in the Autumn Budget 2026?

For homebuyers and homeowners, the biggest changes are the Your First Home scheme, a new First Time Buyer ISA and higher tax on rental and savings income. The table sums up the measures most relevant to our clients, based on the Budget 2026 document.

What does the Budget mean for first-time buyers?

First-time buyers get a new government scheme for new-build homes and a new savings account, but neither starts straight away. For anyone buying in the next few months, the rules that apply today still apply.

Your First Home: a 20% equity loan on new-builds

The Budget confirmed Your First Home, a £4.7bn scheme for first-time buyers in England. You put down a deposit of at least 2.5% (and no more than 15%), the government lends 20% of the price, interest-free for five years, and a mortgage covers the rest. It only applies to new-build homes within local price caps and to households earning up to £110,000 (£140,000 in London). Pre-registration should open by the end of December 2026, applications in February 2027, and the first sales are expected in April 2027.

For the current scheme details, see the official Your First Home guidance.

A new First Time Buyer ISA will replace the Lifetime ISA

From 6 April 2029, new savers will open a First Time Buyer ISA instead of a Lifetime ISA. According to the Budget, you will be able to pay in up to £4,000 a year and get a 25% government bonus, for a first home worth up to £450,000. The bonus is paid when you withdraw the money to buy, is capped at £20,000, and there will be no upper age limit and no withdrawal charge (Budget 2026 document; overview of tax legislation and rates).

What does that mean if you are saving now?

• If you already have a Lifetime ISA, you can keep paying in and use it under the current rules. The government says so directly.
• If you are 18 to 39 and want a LISA, you can still open one. It stays available until the new account launches.
• If you are 40 or over, you cannot open a LISA, but the new ISA should be open to you from 2029.

Some details are still to be confirmed. The consultation proposed that the account must be open for at least a year, that the purchase must be with a mortgage and that LISA money cannot be moved into the new ISA. The final rules will appear in the government response and later legislation. Our guide to the Lifetime ISA explains how the current account works.

Lifetime ISA: a smaller penalty for homes above £450,000

From 29 October 2026, if you use your Lifetime ISA to buy a first home costing more than £450,000, the withdrawal charge is 20% rather than 25%. The purchase must meet all the other first-home rules, and the 25% charge stays for other unauthorised withdrawals (Budget 2026 document).

In practice this means you get back what you paid in, but lose the bonus. An illustrative example:

This is good news in places such as London and parts of the South East, where first homes often cost more than £450,000. The £450,000 cap itself has not changed.

Is stamp duty changing?

No. The Budget does not change stamp duty rates or thresholds for buyers in England and Northern Ireland. The changes are technical and do not affect a typical home purchase. You can check what you would pay with our stamp duty calculator.

Will the Budget change mortgage rates?

The Budget has no measure that directly changes mortgage rates. Fixed rates mostly follow swap rates and gilt yields, which reflect what markets expect from the Bank of England. On Budget day the bond market reacted calmly and the 10-year gilt yield moved only slightly.

Two things are worth watching:

• The bank surcharge doubles. The extra corporation tax paid by banks rises from 3% to 6% from 1 January 2027 to 31 March 2028, to fund energy bill support. The government says this period “will not be extended” (Budget 2026 document). Some brokers warn that banks could pass part of the cost on to customers, but at the time of writing no lender has announced a rate change because of it.
• The Bank of England’s next decision. The Monetary Policy Committee is due to announce its next Bank Rate decision on 5 November 2026. A change would show up quickly in tracker and SVR payments.

If your fixed rate ends in the next six months, it is usually worth looking at a new deal now. Many lenders let you secure a rate several months ahead. Read our six-month plan for when your fixed rate ends and our comparison of product transfer and remortgage.

What changes for savers?

The cash ISA limit stays at £20,000 a year, but tax on savings interest outside an ISA goes up from April 2027. The planned cut to £12,000 for under-65s, announced in the 2025 Budget, will not happen (Budget 2026 document). The overall ISA allowance also stays at £20,000. The Chancellor also announced a new “Starter ISA” to reward people investing in a stocks and shares ISA for the first time. Its design will be worked out with the industry.

Savings interest above your Personal Savings Allowance will be taxed at 24%, 44% or 49% from 6 April 2027, depending on your tax band. That is 4 percentage points more than today: 2 points come from the 2025 Budget and another 2 points from this one. The allowance itself does not change: £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers and £500 for higher-rate taxpayers.

An illustrative example: a basic-rate taxpayer with £30,000 in an ordinary savings account at 4.5% earns £1,350 a year in interest. The first £1,000 is tax-free. On the remaining £350 they pay £70 today and £84 from April 2027. This is a small amount, but it grows with larger savings, and interest in an ISA remains tax-free. The rates in this example are not current offers.

What changes for landlords?

From 6 April 2027, rental profits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be taxed at 24%, 44% and 49% instead of today’s 20%, 40% and 45%. The 2025 Budget had already raised these rates by 2 points, and this Budget adds another 2 (Budget 2026 document). Scotland and Wales have been given the power to set their own property income rates, so landlords there should watch for decisions from the Scottish and Welsh governments.

Mortgage interest relief still works as a tax credit at the basic rate. Under the 2025 Budget rules, HMRC planned to give it at 22% from 2027/28 (HMRC technical note). The Budget documents we have read do not yet say whether it will rise to 24%.

An illustrative example of a basic-rate landlord with a salary of £30,000, a rental profit of £12,000 (before mortgage interest) and £6,000 of mortgage interest:

The tax goes up by £240 or £360 a year, depending on the relief rate. Some landlords will look again at their rents, their mortgage or holding property through a limited company. Read our article on property holding companies for landlords and our buy-to-let mortgages page. Talk to an accountant about the tax side.

The Budget also confirmed the High Value Council Tax Surcharge in England for homes worth £2 million or more from April 2028, with charges from £2,500 to £7,500 a year (GOV.UK). Most of our clients will not be affected.

What else changes for household budgets?

Beyond housing and savings, the Budget focuses on energy bills, the minimum wage and fuel. Here are the main points in brief, based on the Budget document and the Treasury’s summary:

• Minimum wage from 1 April 2027: £13.21 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, £11.27 for 18 to 20-year-olds and £8.31 for 16 to 17-year-olds and apprentices. That is 3.9% more than now. A full-time worker on the National Living Wage gains about £910 a year before tax.
• £100 Household Energy Payment: for households in council tax bands A to D in England, paid via local councils from January 2027. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get funding to decide their own support.
• Electricity VAT: the temporary VAT relief on household electricity is extended to 1 July 2027. The government says it takes about £50 off the annual price cap.
• Gas standing charges: the government has asked Ofgem to remove them from household gas bills in Great Britain by the end of 2027, or as soon as possible after that. The cost will move into the price per unit of gas.
• Warm Homes Loan Scheme: low-interest or interest-free loans for homeowners for heat pumps, solar panels and batteries, with maximum loans of up to £35,000 depending on the technology (GOV.UK; factsheet).
• Fuel duty: the temporary 5p a litre cut stays in place, and the inflation increase is pushed back to 1 July 2027.
• Mileage allowance: the tax-free 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles becomes permanent, and the rate above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p from April 2027.
• Parents and carers: a new parental payment for eligible self-employed fathers, partners and adopters in Great Britain from April 2029. The cliff edge in Carer’s Allowance will be replaced by a taper in England and Wales during 2030/31.
• Food and heating oil: tariffs on over 100 more food products and on heating oil are suspended from November 2026.

What does this mean for Polish and other migrant households in the UK?

Most of the changes apply to you just as they do to anyone else in the UK, but a few conditions are worth checking.

• The Lifetime ISA requires UK residence, and the consultation proposes the same for the new First Time Buyer ISA.
• Property owned abroad matters. For a first-home Lifetime ISA withdrawal you must never have owned a home anywhere in the world, so a flat or a share of one in Poland can rule you out. The Your First Home rules on first-time buyers have not yet been published.
• Your First Home and immigration status. The current guidance does not mention nationality or immigration status. Full eligibility rules are due before applications open in February 2027. Until then, nobody can promise that people with pre-settled status or a visa will qualify.
• The minimum wage rise may help with affordability when a lender assesses your income, but lenders look at your actual payslips, not the announced rates.

How can Extend Finance help?

We are a whole-of-market broker with access to products from over 100 lenders, and our advisers speak Polish and English. We can check whether it makes sense to wait for Your First Home or buy now with a standard mortgage, review your remortgage options before your fixed rate ends, and look at buy-to-let finance after the tax changes. Any applicable mortgage advice fee is disclosed to you before you decide to proceed. Start with our mortgages page or get in touch through the form below.

Summary

The Autumn Budget 2026 does not change mortgage rates or stamp duty, but it does reshape how first-time buyers save and buy: Your First Home from 2027, the First Time Buyer ISA from 2029 and a smaller Lifetime ISA penalty from now on. Savers keep the £20,000 cash ISA limit, while landlords and people with large savings outside an ISA will pay more tax from April 2027. If you plan to buy, remortgage or let property in the next year, talk to us and we will check how these changes affect your plans. The first consultation is free and with no obligation.