No changes to the inheritance tax have been announced in the UK's Autumn budget, unveiled today (Wednesday, October 28) by the new Chancellor, John Healey.

The main relief of relevance to British farmers that emerged from today's speech are an extension of the 5p cut to fuel duty for a further six months.

In addition, the chancellor had announced a series of tariff cuts 24 hours before the budget, including the tariff on fertilisers until the end of 2027.

However, the National Farmers Union (NFU) said the benefits of these tariff cuts for farm businesses were "likely to be minimal", with NFU president Tom Bradshaw highlighting that “much bigger factors are driving fertiliser costs”.

The NFU said: "Any savings will depend on whether it is passed down the supply chain and whether the products covered reflect those actually used by UK agriculture."

Inheritance tax

The reforms to the inheritance tax were initially announced in Budget 2024, and led to much protest from farmers and farming organisations, including a High Court challenge to the changes

The Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs were initially capped at £1 million, which was later raised to £2.5 million, with 50% relief above that threshold.

Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president William Irvine referred to this period before the cap was raised as "14 months of torture for every farm family in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK"

The tax has been in place since April 2026.

In relation to Budget 2026 unveiled today at Westminister, NFU Mutual warned that some farm families may be hit with a "triple tax blow" as pensions have not been included in the inheritance tax calculations.

Sean McCann, chartered financial planner at NFU Mutual, said: “There were no changes to the plans that will see pensions included in inheritance tax calculations from April, which will bring added complications for farming families, particularly those with self-invested pensions who hold land within them.

“The IHT reliefs available on qualifying farmland don’t apply if it is held in a pension. For some, it may make sense to buy the farmland out of their pension.  

 “The changes from April will mean some families will be hit with a triple tax blow, through a combination of inheritance tax on the pension, loss of the tax break on the family home if their estate is worth more than £2m and additional income tax if their loved one dies after age 75."

McCann advised there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the impact, including taking a tax-free lump sum before age 75.

"While it may still be subject to inheritance tax it will avoid an additional income tax charge.

“We expect to see more people taking regular income from their pensions making use of the unlimited ‘gifts from normal expenditure’ exemption.

“Before deciding to make big changes, it’s important to take advice to ensure that in a rush to avoid the worst of April’s tax changes you don’t compromise your future financial security," McCann added.