# Five key tax talking points before next week’s budget

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/five-key-tax-talking-points-before-next-weeks-budget/
- Published: 2026-10-24T07:00:26+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-24T07:52:33+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/oct/24/budget-tax-talking-points-explained-john-healey
- Topics: Business, Elections, Markets, Politics

## Key points

- Healey’s budget is due on 28 October.
- Inheritance tax receipts are forecast to reach £14.5bn by 2030-31.
- Unused defined contribution pensions will count towards inheritance tax from April 2027.

## Summary

The article outlines the tax issues likely to feature in John Healey’s first budget as chancellor on 28 October. Labour has pledged not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT, so attention has turned to other taxes and whether changes could affect people who do not see themselves as wealthy.

Inheritance tax receipts reached £8.5bn in 2025-26, and the OBR forecasts they will rise to £14.5bn by 2030-31; about 5% of estates currently pay it. The standard rate is 40%, but allowances mean a couple can pass on up to £1m to descendants tax-free in qualifying cases, and the average effective rate across taxable estates was 13% in 2023-24. From April 2027, unused defined contribution pension funds will count towards inheritance tax, while capital gains tax receipts rose nearly 80% to £24.3bn in 2025-26 after cuts to its annual tax-free allowance.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.