Autumn Budget 2026: Key Points

On Wednesday 28^th October, Chancellor John Healey delivered the Autumn 2026 budget.

We have summarised the key points relating to property and tax below.

• Your First Home Scheme
  A new scheme designed to reduce the deposit barrier and monthly costs, helping first-time buyers purchase new-build properties. The scheme will be open for pre-registration by the end of December 2026, and full applications from February 2027, with the first loans being issued from April 2027. It has £4.7 billion in government lending to support it.
  - A minimum of 2.5% deposit for eligible buyers
  - A government-backed equity loan worth 20% of the property's value
  - An initial interest-free period on the equity loan
  - Income limits and local property price caps
  - Only available on eligible new-build properties from participating developers
  
  
• Landlords and Buy-to-let Investors
  

  Higher tax on rental income from April 2027. This was already announced in the last budget.
  - Landlords could see an increase in their tax bills
  - Highly leveraged landlords may notice a greater impact on their net rental income
  - Investors may have to think about whether their properties remain financially viable.

• First-time Buyer ISA
  A new First-Time Buyer ISA will replace the Lifetime ISA. Those with the existing Lifetime ISA have been promised that they will get back at least what they put in.

• Higher-value Properties Tax
  

  Already scheduled to apply from April 2028 to properties valued over £2 million.

• Business Founders and Capital Gains 
  - Business Asset Disposal Relief: The lifetime limit for qualifying gains benefiting from the relief is being lowered from £1 million to £500,000.
  - Founders' relief: A new 10% Capital Gains Tax rate will apply to qualifying lifetime gains of up to £10 million for eligible company founders.
• Holiday Lets
  Some mayors and local authorities will gain power from 2028 to introduce overnight visitor levies on short-term stays. This could increase the operating costs of holiday-let businesses.
  
  
• Social and Affordable Housing
  £1.5 billion for the social and affordable housing programme.