What the Autumn Budget 2026 means for you

The government announced their Autumn Budget on Wednesday 28 October 2026. 

John Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, presented the Budget to the House of Commons around 12.30pm. We’ll update this page with details when we can.

We’ll focus on changes likely to have an impact on your money and day-to-day life. This will include what the Budget will mean for the cost of living and people who get benefits. Find out more about the Autumn Budget on GOV.UK. 

Help with energy bills

The government announced several changes to help with the increasing cost of energy bills.

Giving payments to help with energy bills

If you’re in council band A, B, C or D, you’ll get £100 to help with energy bills this winter. 

The money will go straight into bank accounts from January 2027.

You can check your council tax band on GOV.UK.

Check our advice about getting the £100 Household Energy Payment.

Removing the gas standing charge

The gas standing charge will be removed by the end of 2027 or as soon as possible after then. This is a daily tariff added to gas bills, no matter how much gas you use. 

The costs will be added to the unit price of gas instead. For most homes, this will reduce your gas bills. But if you use a lot of gas, for example if you have a large family, you might pay more for your gas than you do now.  

Removing VAT from electricity bills until July 2027

The current temporary removal of VAT from electricity bills has been extended until July 2027 - it was originally only supposed to be until 31 March 2027. 

This means you will not have to pay VAT on top of the electricity you use.

Check our advice about removing VAT from electricity bills.

Help for people who get benefits

The government will make changes to Carer’s Allowance to make sure you won’t completely lose the benefit if your earnings are only slightly over the earnings limit. Instead, the amount of benefit you get will go down as you earn more. This is called a taper. 

This change won’t happen until 2030 - it won’t affect your benefit now. 

No other changes to benefits were announced today.

Help with everyday costs

The government announced several changes to help with things like travel and fuel.

Delaying the Fuel Duty increase to July 2027

The freeze on the Fuel Duty increase is extended to July 2027. 

This means you won’t pay the 5p-per-litre Fuel Duty until at least July 2027.

Capping bus fares

The cap on bus fares has been reduced to £2 from £3. This means a single bus journey will cost up to £2.

You might be able to get help to afford things like bills, food and travel. Check if you can get help with the cost of living.

Keep checking this information

We’ll keep updating this page as we find out more about the Autumn Budget 2026. We’ll include advice on things you might need help with.