• Analysis
Budget winners and losers: pensioners gain as banks and betting firms pay more
John Healey's first budget as chancellor produced clear budget winners and losers: pensioners, households and small producers gain from tax breaks and payments, while banks, gambling firms, savers and landlords face higher taxes.

John Healey's first budget as chancellor left clear budget winners and losers across the country: some households pick up payments and tax breaks, while banks, gambling firms, savers and landlords are set to pay more.
Households and pensioners gain
Pensioners and households came out ahead on several fronts. The state pension will rise to £13,036 next April, with a new matching personal allowance lifting all pensioner income to that level out of tax. Everyone in council tax bands A to D will receive a £100 payment towards this winter's energy costs, guaranteed in England from January, with funding given to other parts of the UK to do the same.
Other winners include:
- •Young entrepreneurs in England, including teenage tech founders, gain a new allowance supporting living costs in the first year of their business.
- •More generous reliefs for small alcohol producers will help 2,000 independent cider makers and brewers, and a new "guest beer" rule will require tied pubs in England and Wales to offer independent brewers' drinks.
- •The government will provide £100m in subsidies for lower-powered on-street EV charging, saving drivers without home charging about £150 a year.
- •The Your First Home scheme will help first-time buyers with a deposit of as little as 2.5% buy a newbuild home; it is open to households earning up to £140,000 in London and £110,000 elsewhere in England.
- •Savers under 65 will not see their cash Isa allowance cut next April, after Healey reversed an announcement from last year's budget, and a new, not yet announced incentive will encourage first-time buyers of stocks and shares.
- •From April 2029, self-employed fathers will be able to claim two weeks of paternity pay, currently worth up to £194 a week.
- •Tariffs have been removed from more than 100 products including marmalade, gherkins and garlic, which could cut the cost of marmalade by 20%.
Banks and betting shops pay more
The bank corporation tax surcharge will rise temporarily from 3% to 6% for 15 months, meaning banks pay a combined £1.5bn extra to the Treasury. That was less than the 8% rise that had been suggested, and bank shares rose after the budget.
Gambling firms also face a higher bill: tax on slot machines with stakes of £1 or more will increase from 20% to 25% from April 2027. Shares in gambling companies also rose on the day.
Savers and landlords face higher tax
Savers lose out in other ways. Student loan plan 2 repayment thresholds were left unchanged and are set to be frozen from next April. Tax on interest outside Isas goes up next April, with Healey adding two percentage points to the rates that had already been announced. Once tax-free interest allowances are used up, a basic-rate saver will pay 24% on returns, a higher-rate taxpayer 44% and an additional-rate payer 49%.
Taxes on property income will also go up by more than had been expected, to the rates outlined for savers, with different rates applying in Scotland. The Office for Budget Responsibility says higher landlord taxes, combined with other recent measures, could push landlords out of the market and deter new investors, leading to steady rent rises.
Who misses out
Not everyone gains from the budget's measures:
- •The Resolution Foundation says 1.4 million of the poorest families, those in council tax bands E and above, will miss out on the £100 energy rebate.
- •The budget removes the biodiversity net gain requirement for developers on brownfield plots up to 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) in England. The rules normally require developers to build in nature gains when developing plots.
The budget's effects are now set: savers' interest and landlord taxes rise from next April, the bank surcharge runs for 15 months, and the slot machine tax change takes effect from April 2027.



