Key money dates for 2025/26

Households have had to contend with a raft of personal finance changes happening in 2025, which have affected everything from their energy bills to how much savings rates and mortgages rise or fall by – and the year isn’t over yet.

We’ve already had a couple of big changes so far this year, such as the energy price cap rising by 6.4% on 1 April, and the Bank of England cutting interest rates all the way from 4.75% to 4%.

The Premium Bonds prize fund rate has also been reduced, and the VAT tax break for private schools ended in January.

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

We look at what else 2025 has in store, and round up the key dates you need to know about.

SEPTEMBER

1 September - rollout of free childcare is completed

The final stage of the government's free childcare policy will be rolled out in September. This will double the allowance from 15 hours of free childcare per week to 30 hours. Parents will be eligible once their child is nine months old.

16 September - wage figures

These are used as part of the triple lock for next April’s state pension. Every April, the UK state pension goes up based on the highest of the average wage growth (based on September’s data) CPI inflation (also September’s data) or a guaranteed 2.5%. Last year, the state pension rose by 8.5% due to strong wage growth. Could we see another big rise in April 2026?

17 September - inflation figures

The Office for National Statistics will release the August inflation data. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.8% in the 12 months to July 2025, up from 3.6% in the 12 months to June. This is the highest rate since January 2024. The rise was primarily driven by increases in airfares and food prices. The Bank of England predicts inflation will reach a peak of 4% in September before beginning to fall back towards the Bank's 2% target.

18 September - MPC meeting

Another base rate meeting will take place on 18 September. A reduction in interest rates has been all but ruled out at this stage.

OCTOBER

1 October - new energy price cap

The October to December Ofgem energy price cap comes into effect on 1 October. Between 1 October and 31 December 2025, the energy price cap is set at £1,755 per year for a typical household who use electricity and gas and pay by Direct Debit.

This is an increase of 2% compared to the cap set between 1 July to 30 September 2025 (£1,720).

Note, the price cap is a cap on unit prices, not your total bill. So your final bill depends on how much energy you actually use.

5 October - deadline to register for self-assessment

If you’re new to self-assessment, this is the deadline to register with HMRC. This could apply to you if, say, you’ve set up a side hustle to earn money in addition to your PAYE job, or made a profit selling cryptocurrency.

You could also be newly self-employed or a new landlord renting out property. Or perhaps you need to pay the high income child benefit charge.

22 October - September inflation announcement

The inflation figure for September is important as it is used when calculating changes to benefits, the state pension and tax credits.

For example, the triple lock means that each year the state pension increases by the largest of the following three figures: 2.5%, the rate of inflation, or earnings growth. It’s the September inflation figure that is used in this comparison.

31 October - postal self-assessment deadline

Almost half a million taxpayers choose to send a paper self-assessment tax return by post rather than filing it online. If you do this, you must submit it by 31 October.

NOVEMBER

6 November - MPC meeting

The MPC’s penultimate base rate meeting of the year will take place on 6 November.

25 November - energy price cap level announced

Ofgem reviews and updates the price cap level every three months. On 25 November 2025 the levels for the period 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026 will be announced.

26 November - Autumn Budget

The date for Budget 2025 has been confirmed as Wednesday 26 November. With the Treasury under pressure, we look at whether taxes will rise in the Autumn Budget.

DECEMBER

18 December - final MPC meeting of the year

The final MPC meeting of the year will take place just before Christmas.

31 December - bus fare cap ends

The single bus fare cap in England – set at £3 from 1 January 2025 – ends.

JANUARY

1 January - new energy price cap

The new energy price cap will come into effect on New Year’s Day. Ofgem, the energy regulator, sets a new price cap every three months, which applies to households on variable bills. If you're on a fixed energy tariff, you're not affected.

2 January - Premium Bond prize draw date

The first Premium Bond draw of the year will take place on Friday 2 January

31 January - self-assessment tax deadline

People who have to file self-assessment tax returns must do so by Saturday 31 January, 2026. It’s also the deadline to pay any tax owed from that return.

Self-employed workers are also required to make a payment on account - this is an advance payment towards your next tax bill, based on your previous tax liabilities. The first payment must be made by 31 January.

Bear in mind that payments to HMRC can take a few days, so try and complete your tax return at least a few days ahead of the 31 January deadline. Or better still, get it done now, and then you won’t have it hanging over your head during the Christmas break and into January.

FEBRUARY

2 February - Premium Bond draw date

The second Premium Bond draw of the year will take place on Monday 2 February.

5 February - first MPC meeting of the year

First meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to decide whether the base rate should be altered, and the release of the February Monetary Policy Report.

MARCH

March

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her second Budget statement in November 2025, but there is usually another fiscal statement in the spring too (often in March). We don't yet know if this will be the case in 2026, as the Treasury has said Reeves is “committed to one major fiscal event every year”.

2 March – Premium Bond draw date

The third Premium Bond draw of the year will take place on Monday 2 March.

19 March - MPC meeting

The second Bank of England meeting of the year will take place on 19 March to decide if the base rate should be changed.

APRIL

1 April – Premium Bond draw date

The fourth Premium Bond draw of the year will take place on Wednesday 1 April.

1 April - new energy price cap

The energy price cap for the second quarter of the year will come into effect on April Fool’s Day to cover the period 1 April to 30 June 2026. Ofgem, the energy regulator, will announce the level of the price cap around the end of February.

Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight expects average energy bills to fall to around £1,712.20 per year in the first quarter of 2026, which would constitute a drop of around 2.4%.

1 April - changes to household bills

A range of household bills will increase from the start of April. So far the regulator Ofwat has proposed for the next five years bills should rise by an average of £19 a year, but how much your bill rises will depend on your supplier.

Your council tax could also rise on 1 April. Local jurisdictions with social care duties can raise this by up to 4.99% a year, while others can increase it by 2.99%. Any larger increases require a local referendum.

Car tax will rise in line with RPI. Meanwhile, car tax on electric vehicles will come into effect, and air passenger duty changes will also come into force.

TV licence fees will rise in line with inflation. The price for 2026 is not yet confirmed, but based on the current funding agreement, it is expected to increase in line with CPI from the £174.50 fee in place from April 2025.

1 April - National Living Wage and minimum wage rise

The National Living Wage and minimum wage are expected to increase from 1 April.

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) estimates the National Living Wage (NLW) could increase to £12.71 per hour from April 2026, a 4.1% rise from the current rate. This projection aims to keep the NLW at or above two-thirds of median earnings. But the exact figure is uncertain and could range from £12.55 to £12.86. The LPC's final recommendations are due by the end of October 2025.

5 April - end of tax year

The 2025-2026 tax year ends on 5 April, so if you’re planning to utilise your entire ISA allowance, the full £20,000 will need to have been paid into your accounts by this date. This includes junior ISAs, which come with a separate annual allowance of £9,000 per tax year.

Remember that the ISA allowance is “use it or lose it” - you cannot roll it over into the next tax year.

Anyone wanting to pay extra into their pension should also try and do this before 5 April, although you can roll any unused allowance forward into future tax years.

Most people can contribute up to £60,000 to their pension pot each tax year and benefit from tax relief. However, for those with an annual income of more than £200,000 (including salary and income from savings and investments) it reduces to an amount between £10,000 and £60,000 if you earn over £200,000. This is called the tapered annual allowance.

6 April - state pension rises

The 2025/26 tax year begins on 6 April. Increases to various state benefits will kick in on this date – including the state pension, which will increase by the higher of 2.5%, inflation or earnings (both according to the readings confirmed for September 2025).