Mayors and local leaders in England are to be given powers to introduce an overnight visitor levy, creating a new charge for people staying in short-term visitor accommodation.

The government announced the plans on 10 September 2026 following a consultation which closed on 18 February 2026. The levy will be optional, with mayors and leaders of Foundation Strategic Authorities able to decide whether to introduce it and how the money raised should be spent.

The charge will be based on a percentage of the accommodation cost rather than a fixed amount. The government says this approach is intended to avoid placing a disproportionate burden on people taking cheaper holidays. Local leaders will also have flexibility to provide exemptions, and temporary accommodation and shelters or refuges will not be subject to the levy.

Hotels and other accommodation providers will be responsible for paying the levy to the relevant strategic authority or mayor. The government says it will work with providers to make the system as straightforward as possible to administer.

Revenue could be used to support local priorities such as public transport, high streets, cultural attractions, public spaces and tourism infrastructure. However, the precise rate, exemptions and spending priorities will be determined locally in consultation with local businesses and residents.

Legislation will be introduced to establish the levy, with the government expecting mayors and Foundation Strategic Authorities to set out spending plans by early 2028. The levy represents an additional cost for visitors, but the amount and whether it applies will depend on where they stay.

Visitor levies are already being introduced elsewhere in the UK. A visitor levy in Edinburgh came into effect on 24 July 2026 and Cardiff Council is expected to introduce a visitor levy from 1 April 2027.

Pensioners who do not want to receive the Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2026–27 have until September to opt out. The payment will be recovered through the tax system from those whose total income exceeds £35,000.

In England and Wales, pensioners who receive a State Pension can opt out through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Manage your State Pension service by 11:59pm on 20 September 2026. The same deadline applies to those using DWP's online opt-out form. Those opting out by telephone must do so by 6pm on 18 September.

Opting out will not affect entitlement to the State Pension. It also applies to future years, so a person does not need to opt out again unless they subsequently choose to receive the payment. They can opt back in to receive the payment for winter 2026–27 by contacting the Winter Fuel Payment Centre before 31 March 2027.

For taxpayers with income above £35,000, HMRC will recover the payment through the tax system. This may be done through self-assessment or by an adjustment to the taxpayer's PAYE tax code. HMRC provides an online tool to help people check whether and how the payment will be recovered.

In Scotland, the equivalent Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is administered by Social Security Scotland. Pensioners wishing to opt out must complete the online opt-out form by midday on 19 October 2026. It is also possible to opt out by contacting Social Security Scotland by telephone, the same opt-out deadline, midday on 19 October 2026 applies.

HMRC is reviewing proposals to introduce new powers for recovering lower-value, persistent tax debts from individuals and businesses that repeatedly fail to engage with collection efforts. The proposals, set out in a public consultation earlier this year, would allow HMRC to recover debts through affordable monthly instalments taken directly from a taxpayer's UK bank or building society account. The measure is intended to address debts that are difficult and costly to recover using existing enforcement methods. HMRC estimates that more than 750,000 lower-value debts, worth over £2 billion in total, remain unresolved each year after standard collection attempts have failed. Under the proposed framework, the automated direct deductions would be capped at £5,000 for individuals and £10,000 for businesses. 

The proposed process would only apply after HMRC's standard collection procedures have been completely exhausted. Taxpayers would first receive a formal Pre-Deduction Notice (PDN), giving them a final opportunity to pay the debt, contact HMRC, arrange a Time to Pay agreement, or raise a formal objection. A 14-day notice period is currently proposed by the government, though several professional stakeholders are calling for an extended notice window of at least 30 days.

HMRC has also proposed safeguarding measures for individuals requiring extra support or experiencing genuine financial hardship, including mandatory affordability checks and manual case reviews where appropriate.

The technical consultation closed on 28 August 2026, and the government is expected to publish a formal summary of responses later this year.

Missing a tax deadline can result in penalties from HMRC, but a taxpayer may be able to appeal if they have a genuine reasonable excuse. Whether an excuse is accepted depends on the individual facts and whether the taxpayer took action to put things right without unnecessary delay.

HMRC does not provide a complete list of acceptable excuses, as each case is considered on its own facts. However, examples that may qualify include serious illness, bereavement, unexpected events outside the taxpayer’s control, or problems with HMRC’s systems that prevented a return or payment being made on time.

Other situations may also be accepted where the taxpayer can demonstrate that circumstances prevented them from meeting the deadline and that they took action to put matters right without unreasonable delay once those circumstances ended. For example, a taxpayer may have experienced an unexpected failure of computer equipment or lost essential records due to circumstances beyond their control.

A reasonable excuse will generally not include situations such as forgetting a deadline, relying on another person who failed to complete the task, or not having enough money to pay a tax bill unless the financial difficulty was caused by an exceptional circumstance.

If HMRC accepts that there was a reasonable excuse, the penalty may be cancelled. Taxpayers should appeal promptly, normally within 30 days of the date on the penalty notice, and explain what happened, when it occurred and why it prevented them from meeting their obligation.

Keeping good records and contacting HMRC as soon as a problem arises can help demonstrate that reasonable steps were taken to meet tax responsibilities.

The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey has confirmed, in a video message, that the next UK Budget will take place on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. Details of all the Budget announcements will be made on a special section of the GOV.UK website which will be updated following completion of the Chancellor’s first Budget speech in October.

HM Treasury is inviting written representations for the Autumn Budget 2025 from individuals, interest groups, MPs and organisations. Submissions should propose evidence-based policy ideas or comment on existing policies, with clear rationale, costs, benefits and deliverability. The deadline for submissions is 23:59 on Wednesday, 9 September 2026.

The Budget will be published alongside the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This forecast will be in addition to that published for the Spring Statement and fulfil the obligation for the OBR to produce at least two forecasts in a financial year, as is required by legislation.

The OBR has executive responsibility for producing the official UK economic and fiscal forecasts, evaluating the government’s performance against its fiscal targets, assessing the sustainability of and risks to the public finances and scrutinising government tax and welfare spending.