Your pay, energy bills and savings: How the Budget affects you
New measures include a £100 energy payment, changes to standing charges, and the cancellation of planned Isa savings cuts.
Quick Look
- Chancellor John Healey has announced a £100 'Household Energy Payment' for 20 million homes in England, funded by bank taxes.
- The budget also scraps planned Isa savings cuts, introduces a new 'Starter Isa', and confirms a 2.5% deposit scheme for first-time buyers.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The government is addressing rising energy costs and inflation. Previous plans to reduce annual Isa savings limits have been reversed.
Families facing cost-of-living pressures are being offered some assistance, according to Chancellor John Healey.
Price rises are forecast to accelerate as energy bills in particular are likely to soar in the new year.
So, here's how the key announcements in his first Budget affect you and your money.
The chancellor has effectively revived cost-of-living payments, by announcing a £100 automatic payment made directly into bank accounts.
He said that 20 million homes in council tax bands A to D in England will receive a £100 "Household Energy Payment", funded by extra tax on banks.
You can find your council tax band by looking on your annual bill, or by looking on the government's website, external - although that was struggling to cope with traffic after the announcement.
Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive the equivalent funding, and they will decide whether to introduce the same payment.
This is designed to help with soaring energy bills. Tariffs linked to regulator Ofgem's price cap, are forecast to soar by hundreds of pounds a year, to an annual bill of £2,000 or more in January.
Gas standing charges will be scrapped in England, Scotland and Wales, during 2027 "or as soon as possible after", the chancellor said.
These fixed daily fees will be shifted onto the price of each unit of energy.
The Treasury calculates that 60% of households will gain an average of £45 a year, with lower users gaining the most - but not until after the projected big rise in bills in January.
Higher users - in the biggest houses but also large, low-income families - will pay more than they currently do.
The government wants to extend reforms to electricity standing charges later.
Motor fuel prices have risen sharply owing to the continued impact of the Iran war on drivers, with diesel having recently hit new records when it moved above £2 per litre.
The cost of filling a typical family car with diesel has gone up by around £30 since late February. A tankful of petrol costs about £23 more.
The chancellor has scrapped his predecessor's plans to reduce the annual amount people can save tax-free in cash in Individual Savings Accounts (Isas).
Rachel Reeves had wanted the policy to encourage personal investment in stocks and shares.
It meant, from April 2027, if you're under 65, you would only be able to save £12,000 a year in cash in an Isa, rather than £20,000.
But that plan has now been ditched.
Instead, the government plans to create a new "Starter Isa" for first-time investors.
The government had already committed to not taxing people who only get an income from the state pension.
The chancellor said this would be the case until at least 2030, as there will be a new Pension Tax Allowance, so pensioners with an income up to the value of the full new state pension will not pay income tax.
Separately, he confirmed the Your First Home equity scheme to allow first-time buyers in England to buy a new-build home with a deposit of 2.5%. It would provide them with a loan worth 20% of their property's value to help pay for the purchase.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Implementation of £100 Household Energy Payment for eligible homes.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Will Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland implement the £100 payment?
- How will the removal of standing charges impact long-term energy infrastructure funding?






