In this week’s Enews, we look at the major tax and spending decisions announced in the Autumn Budget. There is also a warning on the risks of relying on advice from AI tools and the latest advisory fuel rates to update you on.
Chancellor raises £26 billion in Autumn Budget
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves set out tax-raising measures worth up to £26 billion in the Autumn Budget.
The increases will be achieved through a range of measures, including extending the freeze on Income Tax thresholds for a further three years.
Ms Reeves also announced extra spending increasing to £11.3 billion in 2029/30, including an extra £9 billion on welfare.
Despite the uplift in spending the Chancellor has more than doubled her fiscal headroom from around £10around to around £22 billion, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR overshadowed the Chancellor’s speech with the accidental publication of its main measures prior to the Budget being announced in Parliament.
On Income Tax the personal allowance, the higher rate threshold and additional rate threshold are frozen at £12,570, £50,270 and £125,140, respectively, until 2030/31.
Taxes on property, dividend and saving income – which currently face no equivalent of National Insurance contributions (NICs) – will be increased by up to 2%.
From April 2029, the government will charge employee and employer NICs on any pension contributions made via salary sacrifice above £2,000 a year
The Budget also halves Capital Gains Tax relief for company owners selling their businesses to Employee Ownership Trusts from 100% to 50%.
In addition, the Budget introduced a High Value Council Tax Surcharge on homes worth more than £2 million, while protecting those on low incomes.
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) will be reformed from April 2027 when the annual cash limit will be set at £12,000, within the overall annual ISA limit of £20,000.
The Chancellor also took action to cut £150 off energy bills, freeze rail fares and end the two-child benefit cap.
The government is extending the 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026 with rates then gradually returning to March 2022 levels by March 2027.
Ms Reeves said:
‘I can tell you today that, for every family we are keeping our promise to get energy bills down and cut the cost of living with £150 taken off the average household energy bill from April.
‘Money off bills, and in the pockets of working people. That is my choice.’
Internet link: GOV.UK
AI tools giving risky consumer advice, warns Which?
AI tools including Chat GPT, Gemini and Meta AI are giving inaccurate, unclear and risky advice which could prove costly if followed, warns consumer champion Which?.
Research showed that around half of UK adults are now using AI tools to research topics including personal finance, the law and health.
Which? tested six AI tools – ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Gemini AI Overview (AIO), Microsoft’s Copilot, Meta AI and Perplexity – to establish how well they could answer common consumer questions.
Meta AI received the worst score in Which?’s tests, achieving just 55% overall.
ChatGPT, which is the most used tool according to Which?’s survey, came second to bottom with an overall score of 64%,
Perplexity topped the table with 71%. It received the highest scores for accuracy, relevance, clarity and usefulness of any of the tools on test.
Andrew Laughlin, Which? Tech Expert, said:
‘Everyday use of AI is soaring, but we’ve found that when it comes to getting the answers you need, the devil is in the details. Our research uncovered far too many inaccuracies and misleading statements for comfort, especially when leaning on AI for important issues like financial or legal queries.
‘When using AI, always make sure to define your question clearly, and check the sources the AI is drawing answers from. For particularly complex issues, always seek professional advice – particularly for medical queries, before making major financial decisions or embarking on legal action.’
Internet link: Which? website
Advisory fuel rates for company cars
New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 December 2025.
The guidance states: ‘you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car.
The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on or after 1 December 2025 are:
| Engine size | Petrol |
| 1400cc or less | 12p |
| 1401cc – 2000cc | 14p |
| Over 2000cc | 22p |
| Engine size | Diesel |
| 1600cc or less | 12p |
| 1601cc – 2000cc | 13p |
| Over 2000cc | 18p |
| Engine size | LPG |
| 1400cc or less | 11p |
| 1401cc – 2000cc | 13p |
| Over 2000cc | 21p |
HMRC guidance states that the rates only apply when you either:
- reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars
- require employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel.
You must not use these rates in any other circumstances.
The Advisory Electricity Rate for fully electric cars is below. Electricity is not a fuel for car fuel benefit purposes.
| Advisory Electricity Rate | |
| Home Charger | 7p |
| Public Charger | 14p |
If you would like to discuss your company car policy, please contact us.
Internet link: GOV.UK AFR
