London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026

Mini-budget: What it means for you and your finances

Mini-budget: What it means for you and your finances

Described as a mini-budget, or a fiscal event, there was enough affecting your finances in this statement to fill any full-scale Budget.

We did not receive any independent forecasts as we would normally expect, but we already know some of the impact on the pounds and pence in your pocket.

So, with the cost of living rising, these are the key announcements from Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng which will affect you.


Income tax cut will come earlier


A cut in the basic rate of income tax will be brought forward by a year.

In the Spring, Rishi Sunak, when chancellor, pledged to reduce the basic rate of income tax by 1p in the pound before the end of the Parliament in 2024.

Now Mr Kwarteng says this will now happen in April 2023, which the government says will benefit 31 million people with an average £170 a year reduction in tax.

However, people are facing higher bills and the higher cost of borrowing, and more people have been drawn into paying higher tax bands, because the thresholds have been frozen.

What is eye-catching is that the chancellor has pledged to abolish the 45% additional rate of tax, which is paid by people who earn more than £150,000 a year, in April 2023. That is a tax saving of nearly £3,000 a year for somebody earning £200,000 annually.

It means the 40% higher rate, for earnings of over £50,270, will be the top rate.

Income tax bands are different in Scotland, where there are five different rates.


Potential for benefits being cut


Anyone on the major benefits - such as universal credit - should expect a rise in what they receive, owing to the link to inflation. However, that will not come until April. Many charities have called for that rise to come earlier.

Mr Kwarteng instead concentrated on a plan to cut benefits for those who do not adequately search for work.

He said that would mean 120,000 more people on universal credit "take active steps to seek more and better-paid work, or face having their benefits reduced".

There would be extra support for unemployed people aged over 50 to help get them into work.


How will the stamp duty change affect home buying?


Stamp duty holidays are often used by governments to encourage activity in the housing market. The theory is that people also spend on things like home improvements and fixtures and fittings after they move, thus boosting economic growth.

The tax affects people planning to buy a property. It only applies in England and Northern Ireland.

The chancellor said that, instead of a stamp duty holiday, there would be a permanent cut in stamp duty.


In detail, it means, the threshold of how much a property has to cost before stamp duty is paid has been changed from £125,000 to £250,000.

First-time buyers currently pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000, and that will be raised to £425,000. Discounted stamp duty for first-time buyers will apply up to £625,000, an increase from the previous £500,000.

Homebuyers in London and the South East of England will benefit the most from this. They pay 65% of all stamp duty as prices are higher and the tax is particularly focused on homes of more than £500,000, according to research by Zoopla. Three-quarters (76%) of stamp duty came from homes priced at more than £500,000.


National Insurance will boost pay packets


Although announced a day in advance, the reversal of an increase in National Insurance loomed large in this mini-budget.

It will see the 1.25% rise in National Insurance cancelled on 6 November.

The Treasury said the change would save nearly 28 million people an average of £330 per year.


However, the impact varies considerably depending on what you earn, as there are weekly thresholds for National Insurance. There is nothing to pay on the first £242 earned per week, then it is 13.25% on earnings between £242.01 and £967, and 3.25% on the rest.

That means, in general, people who earn more than £12,570 a year pay National Insurance, and the more they earn, the more they will benefit from this change.

For example, somebody earning £20,000 will save about £93 a year, and somebody earning £100,000 will save £1,093, compared to now.

The increase in National Insurance was designed to raise money for health and social care, which the government says will now be funded through general taxation.

By taking income tax and National Insurance cuts together, someone earning £20,000 a year will save £167 a year, those earning £40,000 will save £617, someone getting £60,000 will save £969, and person on £100,000 a year will get an extra £1,469, according to accountancy firm EY.


What about the so-called sin taxes?


Planned increases in the duty rates for beer, cider, wine and spirits have been cancelled.


What was the backdrop to this mini-budget?


Grocery prices and energy bills are soaring, so much so that there has been a huge package of support to protect people, to a degree, from unmanageable gas and electricity bills.

Despite that help, median earners were expecting to see a 3% (£600) fall in real income this year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Household support will help make a recession, which the Bank of England says we may already be in, not as deep as previously expected.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Aides Say U.S. Has Discussed Offering Asylum to British Jews Amid Growing Antisemitism Concerns
UK Seeks Diplomatic De-escalation with Trump Over Greenland Tariff Threat
Prince Harry Returns to London as High Court Trial Begins Over Alleged Illegal Tabloid Snooping
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
×