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Budget Overview for both the UK and Scotland

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ second Labour Budget was delivered in late November 2025 amid lots of speculation as to possible tax changes and given the backdrop of the significant changes made in the previous year.

Autumn Budget 2025 – Review

Yesterday, Wednesday 26 November, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her second budget. We have sifted through the details which we feel will be the most significant to our clients, and we hope the following review will be helpful.

Changes to Tax from April 2025

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Changes to Tax from April 2025

Employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs)

The biggest revenue raiser in the Budget was the changes to NICs. The increase in Employers’ NICs (increasing from 13.8% to 15% from April 2025) grabbed many of the headlines. What has been largely overlooked is the reduction in “Secondary Threshold” from £9,100 to £5,000. Allied to the increase in the National Living Wage, the changes will particularly affect those in the care, retail, hospitality and cleaning/maintenance sectors.

Inheritance Tax

It is difficult to recollect a more seismic Budget in recent times. The last major changes to Inheritance Tax were made in 2006, but mainly in relation to Trusts. There was an expectation that Inheritance Tax reliefs would be reformed, most likely for landlords who lease out land which qualifies for Agricultural Property Relief (APR). It was considered much less likely that Business Property Relief (BPR) would be reformed, and there was a distinct lack of speculation in this regard.