The Autumn Budget 2025: Our Predictions
The highly anticipated 2025 Autumn Budget will be delivered on November 26. It is the second Labour autumn budget since the party came into power in July 2024. As the party has been in Downing Street for more than a year at this point, speculation about what Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, will announce is mounting. How will the changes impact people’s money? And, from a Doctors Mortgages Online perspective, what could it mean for the property market? Here are our predictions about what Reeves might announce later this month.
What Is The Budget and Why Is It Important?
The Budget is a statement that the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes to MPs in the House of Commons. It presents the government’s plans for the economy and includes any changes to taxes and spending to cover debt and raise money for essential services. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), government borrowing rose to £20.2 billion in September 2025, so the government is under a lot of pressure to try and stabilise finances*. The Budget is where they’ll outline how they intend to recoup some of their borrowing and spending.
Our Predictions
So, what does the team here at Doctors Mortgages Online think might be announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget? Well, it’s expected that the Chancellor might announce big changes to pensions and inheritance tax, but what we’re interested in is what might be revealed that could impact the property market and mortgages. This is what we think might happen and what it could mean for you.
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
Stamp duty is a tax that’s payable to the government when you buy a property or land in the UK. It’s paid in a lump sum on completion. At the moment, first-time buyers don’t pay stamp duty on properties up to the value of £300,000. If their house purchase exceeds this, they then pay 5% tax on anything over £300,000. The threshold for other buyers is £125,000, and the percentage of tax they pay goes up in tiers depending on property value.
As you can see, stamp duty can greatly increase the upfront costs of buying property. It’s been speculated that the government might lower the stamp duty thresholds, but it will be cautious not to stall the market further.
Other changes speculated to happen to stamp duty include the government changing the system to allow buyers to pay their taxes over a longer period (currently, it must be paid within 28 days of completion). This could improve the market as buyers won’t have to wait until they’ve saved enough for stamp duty before buying.
Another rumour is that the responsibility of paying stamp duty could change from the buyer to the seller, which could lower the upfront cost of homeownership for buyers. However, some argue that this would be unfair to sellers who could face paying tax on the property they are selling and buying.
- Council Tax
Another way the government may try to recoup its finances is by increasing council tax. This could be done by introducing new, higher council tax bands for high-value properties. It will have a knock-on effect on homeowners’ monthly outgoings and will be something else that they need to budget for.
- Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Capital Gains Tax currently does not apply when selling your main home. However, there is speculation that this could change for the sales of higher-value properties. There’s also a suggestion that the rate of CGT could change or different rates could be introduced for assets like second homes. While this is only speculation at this stage, it could signal a shift towards funding through taxation of the wealthy.
- Rental Income
There might also be changes to how rental income is taxed. There is speculation that National Insurance might become payable on rental income. At the moment, landlords don’t pay National Insurance on the rent received. It’s only paid by those who are self-employed and employees. It’s unclear what rate landlords would be expected to pay if this change were to come into effect, but it could reduce the profits they receive.
Watch This Space
Until Rachel Reeves delivers the budget to the House of Commons on November 26, the above points are purely speculation. At this stage, no one knows what the Autumn Budget will actually entail, or what it’ll mean for prospective home buyers, sellers, owners, and landlords. It’s not just home ownership it will impact either, the budget could also see a rise in cigarette and alcohol costs. For now, we just need to wait and see what’s announced next week. Be sure to check back on our blog for our reaction to what’s revealed.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance
