The new year brings a slate of new laws, deadlines and changes affecting household budgets
2026 has a number of important deadlines and dates households should be aware of. Being aware of what is coming can help avoid people taking an unexpected knock to their finances.
Most prominently, the new tax year starting in April will see many of the changes announced in Rachel Reeves’ latest Budget being implemented. Elsewhere, people using vapes, tobacco, fuel and even cryptocurrencies will see major changes throughout 2026 affecting how they are taxed and how much they pay for these products.
Not budgeting properly for these key dates could cause big financial headaches for some households and businesses. Below, we look at what is in the pipeline.
January
January 1: New energy price cap will be implemented, adding 28p per month to the typical household energy bill.
January 1: New rules for crypto users who will need to give identifying details to service providers before buying, selling, transferring or exchanging crypto assets. This change is meant to make it easier for the government to calculate how much tax crypto owners need to pay.
January 31: The self-assessment tax deadline to submit online returns and pay any tax owed on that return.
February
February 1: Alcohol duty will be uprated by 3.66%, likely resulting in pricier pints.
March
March 1: Rail fares will remain frozen, rather than being increased each year in line with the RPI measure of inflation.
March 31: Deadline for people who need to claim Winter Fuel Payments.
April
April 1: National Living Wage by 4.1% and minimum wage rise by 8.5% for workers aged 18 to 20 while worked aged 16 or 17 and apprentices will get a 6% pay rise.
April 1: NHS prescription charges will be frozen at £9.90 for a single prescription.
April 1: New business rates bills will be uprated to reflect changes in property values according to Money Week.
April 5: End of the tax year, marking the deadline for people with ISAs to use as much of their annual £20,000 allowance as possible.
April 6: State pension and benefit payments to increase
April 6: Dividend tax rises from 8.75% to 10.75% for basic rate taxpayers and 33.75% to 35.75% for higher rate taxpayers.
April 6: Remote workers will no longer qualify for tax relief for their costs of working from home.
July
July 15: New regulations for Buy Now Pay Later providers to better support and inform customers of potential dangers they face when using the service, such as offering them support if they fall into financial difficulty.
August
August 31: The temporary fuel duty freeze ends with the government planning to ‘unwind’ the 5p cut until it disappears in March 2027.
October
October 1: New tax charged on vaping products at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid.
October 5: Deadline to register for self-assessment tax returns for the previous tax year.
October 31: Deadline to file paper self-assessment tax returns
November
November 26: Tobacco duty rises by RPI inflation rates plus two percentage points.
