An unprecedented early release of data from the Office of Budget Responsibility intensified discussions around today’s Budget, making them more heated than usual, despite the considerable speculation, kite-flying, and apparent U-turns that had taken place in the month leading up to the 26th November budget announcement.

For those interested in property, investing, and saving, the final headlines include:

• A 2% increase in taxes on ‘property income’, resulting in tax rates of 22%, 42%, and 47% for rental income from April 2027.
• A mansion tax on properties exceeding £2 million (based on a new 2026 valuation), to be collected alongside council tax from April 2028, ranging from £2,500 to £7,500 annually.
• A 2% rise in taxes on dividend income – the basic rate increases to 10.75%, and the higher rate is increased to 35.75%, from April 2026.
• A 2% increase in taxes on ‘savings income’ – again rising to 22%, 42%, and 47% from April 2027.

Outside these areas, other headline-grabbing measures include:

• A widely anticipated freeze on tax and national insurance thresholds is extended until 2031 (rather than increasing income tax rates themselves, as was suggested in recent weeks).
• Removing the two-child benefit cap from April 2026, benefiting half a million families, but at an estimated cost of around £2.6 billion per year from now until 2030.
• Imposing severe limits on tax relief for salary sacrifice on pensions over £2k per year (from April 2029).
• Increasing tax collection through HMRC compliance and debt management changes.
• Changes to writing down allowances for companies.
• Implementing a charge of 3p per mile for electric vehicle mileage from April 2028.
• Revising gambling taxes to generate approximately £1bn annually.
• Maintaining the fuel duty freeze, though only temporarily.

Those who have saved to build investments in property and other assets, or those who run their own businesses, may feel targeted by many measures in this Budget. Making pension contributions less tax-efficient and introducing new taxes on electric cars mark turning points for behaviours previously encouraged by successive Governments.

By extending the tax threshold freezes and increasing taxes only on ‘unearned’ income, this Government will claim, for now, that it has kept its manifesto promise to preserve tax rates for ‘working people’. Better-than-expected forecasts have helped restore more of the ‘headroom’ the Chancellor was seeking. The long-term effects of these changes on long-term savings, pensions, and investments will not be evident for some time.