Autumn Budget 2025 — What Investors Need to Know (Simple Breakdown) The UK Autumn Budget just landed, and there are some major changes coming that every investor, landlord, and saver should know about. Here are the key updates — in plain English — and what they mean for your money: 1. Higher taxes on investment income •Dividend tax rates rise by 2 percentage points from April 2026. •Savings interest and property income rates rise from April 2027. Impact: Investing outside ISAs & pensions is about to get more expensive. If you haven’t already maximised wrappers, now is the time. 2. ISA rule changes •ISA allowance stays at £20,000. •But from April 2027, under-65s can only put £12,000 into a cash ISA (the rest must be Stocks & Shares). •New First-Time Buyer ISA likely coming in 2026. Impact: Cash savers under 65 lose some flexibility. Stocks & Shares ISAs become even more important. 3. Landlords & property investors hit again •Property income tax rates rising to 22% / 42% / 47%. •A new High-Value Council Tax Surcharge on homes worth £2m+ from 2028. Impact: Net rental yields will shrink further. Time to re-run the numbers if you own investment property. 4. Pensions: big shift for high earners •Salary-sacrifice NIC advantages capped at £2,000 from April 2029. •DB schemes allowed to distribute surpluses from 2027. •And from 2027, unspent DC pension pots will sit within inheritance tax rules. Impact: High earners relying on large salary sacrifice strategies will need to adjust. Estate planning becomes more important. 5. Venture capital & IPO changes •VCT income tax relief falls to 20% from April 2026. •EIS/VCT company fundraising limits rise, meaning more deal flow. •New UK listings get 3 years of SDRT relief on share transfers (from late 2025). Impact: Less upfront tax relief, but potentially more opportunities in early-stage and newly listed companies. 6. Capital gains changes •Employee Ownership Trust relief cut from 100% → 50%. •Non-resident CGT loopholes tightened.