When is the Budget?
The Treasury confirmed on 31 July 2026 that the Autumn Budget will be presented on Wednesday 28 October 2026, alongside a new economic and fiscal forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Fuel duty: the cut ends on 31 December
Fuel duty on petrol and diesel is 52.95p per litre. That includes a 5p cut first introduced in March 2022. The cut had been due to start unwinding from September 2026, but on 20 May 2026 the government extended it to 31 December 2026. HMRC published the amended rates on 22 May.
What happens after that has not been confirmed. The Budget is the most likely place for the government to say whether duty rises in January 2027, rises in stages, or stays frozen for longer. VAT is charged on top of duty, so any rise costs drivers slightly more at the pump than the headline figure.
To see what a change would mean for your own journeys, use our fuel cost calculator and adjust the price per litre.
Electric cars: pay-per-mile is already set
The electric vehicle excise duty (eVED) was announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 and HMRC published the details in July 2026. Electric cars will pay 3p a mile and plug-in hybrids 1.5p a mile from 1 April 2028. Read our full eVED explainer for what it costs at different mileages.
What we will do
We will update this article on Budget day with every confirmed change for drivers, including fuel duty, car tax and company car tax, and update our calculators to match.
Sources
- CIPP: Date of the Autumn Budget announced (31 July 2026)
- HMRC: Amended fuel duty rates for 2026 to 2027 (22 May 2026)
- What Car?: Fuel duty frozen until at least the end of 2026
- HMRC: Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED)
Facts checked against the sources above on 20 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
