What will the Autumn Budget 2026 mean for people dealing with a death?
- 1The Budget is on Wednesday 28 October 2026 — John Healey's first as Chancellor, confirmed on 31 July 2026.
- 2Nothing affecting inheritance tax, probate or pensions has been announced for it. Everything below the line 'what is already law' is in force or legislated; everything under 'rumour' is not.
- 3Already law: nil-rate bands frozen at £325,000 and £175,000 until 5 April 2031; 100% agricultural and business relief capped at £2.5 million per person from 6 April 2026; unused pensions inside inheritance tax for deaths from 6 April 2027.
- 4Inheritance tax follows the rules at the date of death. A measure announced on 28 October normally starts on a later date, so an estate in progress is usually unaffected unless the legislation says otherwise.
- 5Probate fees are a Ministry of Justice matter, not a Budget one. The £526 application fee took effect on 13 July 2026.
- 6This page was written before the Budget. If you are reading it after 28 October 2026, go to the Treasury's Budget documents for what was actually announced.
Until 28 October, the honest answer is: nothing yet. This page sets out what is already law so you can tell a real change from a headline, explains why a Budget rarely alters an estate you are already administering, and lists the rumours so you can recognise them as rumours. If you are reading it after 28 October, the Treasury's own Budget documents are the place to check what was actually announced.
As of 14 September 2026 — Written before the Budget of 28 October 2026. Nothing on this page is an announcement; treat anything reported after that date as superseding it.
The date, and who is delivering it
The Chancellor, John Healey, wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 31 July 2026 confirming that the Budget will be delivered on Wednesday 28 October 2026, with the Office for Budget Responsibility publishing its economic and fiscal forecast the same day. His letter framed it as a Budget that “moves power and money out of Westminster, into every postcode in Britain” and committed to the government's fiscal rules. It said nothing about inheritance tax, probate or pensions.
What is already law — and will not be news
A lot of what gets reported around a Budget is restated old news. These are the measures already in force or legislated for bereaved families, so you can discount them when they reappear:
- Nil-rate band frozen to 5 April 2031. The November 2025 Budget extended the freeze by a year. The nil-rate band stays at £325,000, the residence nil-rate band at £175,000, and the taper threshold at £2 million. See our inheritance tax guide for 2026/27.
- Agricultural and business relief capped. From 6 April 2026, 100% relief applies to the first £2.5 million of qualifying agricultural and business property per person, with 50% relief above that; the allowance is transferable between spouses and civil partners. Our guide to the April 2026 relief changes has the detail.
- Pensions inside inheritance tax from 6 April 2027. Legislated in Finance Act 2026; HMRC published its second technical note on the mechanics on 27 August 2026. See pensions and inheritance tax from April 2027.
- Probate fee £526. Raised from £300 on 13 July 2026 by the Ministry of Justice. Court fees are not set in the Budget. See probate fees in 2026.
What is rumour
Two ideas circulate before every Budget and neither has been announced for this one:
- A lifetime cap on tax-free gifts. There is currently no limit on what a person can give away; gifts simply fall out of the estate if the giver survives seven years.
- Changing the seven-year rule — lengthening it, or altering taper relief.
Both were widely predicted before the November 2025 Budget and neither happened; our account of that Budget records what was actually announced against what was forecast. Until the Treasury publishes the 2026 measures, the seven-year rule applies exactly as it does today.
If you are administering an estate now
Inheritance tax is calculated under the rules in force at the date of death. A Budget measure is given a commencement date by its legislation — typically the start of the next tax year on 6 April, and sometimes the day of the announcement for anti-avoidance measures. Whether a change reaches the estate you are handling therefore turns on two dates: the date of death and the date the measure starts.
Practically:
- If the death was before any commencement date, the estate is taxed under the old rules. There is nothing to wait for.
- If a beneficiary wants to redirect what they inherit — for example to the next generation — a deed of variation within two years of the death is read back to the date of death for inheritance tax. Watch on 28 October for anything said about that rule.
- Do not delay filing the IHT400 in the hope that a rule changes. GOV.UK says the account must reach HMRC within twelve months of the death, and the tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the death; interest runs from then regardless of what any Budget says.
What to look for on 28 October
The Treasury publishes the Budget document and an “Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates” at the end of the speech. The inheritance tax measures are in the tax chapter and each carries its own start date. The four things to check for are: the nil-rate bands and freeze date, anything on lifetime gifts, any further change to agricultural and business relief, and any adjustment to the April 2027 pension rules.