Finance Bill 2026: what comes after the Budget

The Budget on 28 October was the announcement, but the Finance Bill is the part that makes it law. It was recently introduced to the House of Commons. It had its first reading on 3 November 2026.

Most organisations stop paying attention once the Budget speech is over. That is a mistake if any measure touches your work, because the detail of a tax is settled in the bill, and the bill is open to evidence, amendment and argument for the next few months. This guide sets out what is in it, the timetable to expect, and where you can still make a difference.

A note on the name. The bill is called simply the Finance Bill. It was introduced in the 2026 to 2027 session, so if it passes in the new year it will become the Finance Act 2027.

What is in the Finance Bill?

The bill was presented by the Chancellor, John Healey, for HM Treasury. Alongside the usual annual business of setting income tax and corporation tax rates, it creates several new taxes and levies. These are the parts most likely to matter beyond tax specialists:

• High value council tax surcharge (Part 3). A new annual charge on homes in England valued at £2 million or more, collected by councils. There are four bands, from £2,500 a year for homes worth £2 million to £2.5 million, up to £7,500 for homes worth £5 million or more. It applies from April 2028.
• International student levy (Part 6). A charge of £925 a year for each international student on a higher education course at a registered provider. It applies from the academic year starting 1 August 2028.
• Securities transfer tax (Part 5). A new tax on transfers of shares and similar securities, replacing stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax, which the bill abolishes. Transfers to charities are among the exemptions.
• Oil and gas revenue levy (Part 4). A charge of 35% on exceptional oil and gas revenues, replacing the Energy Profits Levy.
• Banking surcharge (clause 7). A temporary increase, which the Budget set as a rise from 3% to 6% for 15 months from 1 January 2027.
• Charitable giving and inheritance tax (clause 43). Pension savings that fall into an estate for inheritance tax are added as a separate part of the estate in the rules for the reduced 36% rate, which applies when an estate leaves enough to charity.
• Pensioners (clause 24). An income tax reduction for people over state pension age, worth £94 in the 2027/28 tax year.
• VAT changes (clauses 49 to 61). These include online marketplaces, electric vehicle charging, zero rating for free medicines and VAT refunds for public bodies.
• Soft drinks industry levy (clauses 84 to 89). New rates and changes to how milk and plant based milk drinks are treated.

The full list of clauses is on the bill page. HM Revenue and Customs and the Treasury publish explanatory notes for every clause, written in plainer language than the bill itself. If one measure matters to you, start with its explanatory note.

How the Finance Bill goes through Parliament

A Finance Bill follows the same basic stages as any other government bill, with three differences that matter if you want to influence it.

1. The Commons does almost all the work. Tax is the Commons' business. The House of Lords debates the bill, but by long convention it does not amend it, and a bill certified as a money bill can become law without the Lords' agreement after one month.
2. The committee stage is split. The most contested clauses, usually tax rates and the biggest new measures, go to a Committee of the whole House, where any MP can speak and vote. The rest go to a Public Bill Committee, a smaller group of MPs that works through them clause by clause.
3. The bill is bounded by the Budget resolutions. MPs vote on a set of Ways and Means resolutions at the end of the Budget debate, and these set the limits of what the bill can do. Amendments that would raise a tax or create a new one are usually out of order. Opposition and backbench amendments therefore tend to ask the government to publish a review or report on a measure, which is often the realistic way to put pressure on a minister.

Some measures take effect before the bill passes. Under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968, Budget resolutions can give temporary legal force to changes such as duty rates, provided the bill then completes its stages within set time limits.

The timetable to expect

No dates beyond first reading have been announced. Last year's bill is the best guide to the pace, and it moved like this:

Last year the bill took 15 weeks from first reading to Royal Assent, and the Lords dealt with it in under a week. If this year's bill keeps a similar pace from its earlier start, it would reach the Public Bill Committee around the turn of the year and become law by the spring. Treat that as an estimate until the dates are published.

Where you can still influence the Finance Bill

Send written evidence to the Public Bill Committee

This is the most direct route open to any organisation, and few outside the tax world use it. Once the bill reaches its Public Bill Committee, anyone can send written evidence. The committee publishes it and MPs can draw on it in debate.

Last year the committee received 37 pieces of written evidence. Most came from professional tax bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Taxation, ICAEW and the Association of Taxation Technicians. A few came from organisations directly affected, including the National Housing Federation and the Scottish Grocers' Federation. That is a small field, so a clear submission from an affected charity, university or business stands out.

The window is short. Last year's evidence was published between 27 January and 3 February, while the committee was sitting, and evidence is only useful before the committee reaches the clauses it covers. To write one that gets used:

• Name the clause numbers in your title and opening line, as every submission did last year.
• Show the effect on real people or organisations, with figures where you have them. The committee already hears from tax experts. It hears far less about what a measure does on the ground.
• Propose something the committee can act on: a change of wording, an exemption, a commencement date, or a review the government should publish.
• Keep it short. Two or three pages that a busy MP can read in minutes beat a long report.

Our guide to submitting evidence to a select committee covers the craft in more detail. Most of it applies here too.

Brief MPs before the debates

Because the biggest clauses go to a Committee of the whole House, every MP can speak on them. Your own MP, MPs with a constituency interest (a university town, say, for the international student levy) and the opposition Treasury team are the people to brief. Ask for something specific: a question to the minister, a probing amendment, or a request for a review. A minister's answer on the record can shape how HMRC applies a measure for years.

Use the Treasury Committee

The Treasury Committee is running an inquiry into Budget 2026 and hears from the Chancellor on 11 November. Its report is likely to arrive while the bill is still in the Commons, where MPs can quote it in debate. The committee has also invited written evidence, so check the inquiry page for whether the call is still open before you write.

Watch what comes after the Act

Many measures leave the detail to regulations. The council tax surcharge, for example, gives the Treasury power to set discounts by regulations. Those regulations, the HMRC guidance and the consultations behind them are further chances to shape how a tax works in practice, often with less competition for officials' attention than the bill itself.

How to keep track of it

Finance Bills move fast at the end. Last year the report stage, third reading and every Lords stage were done within a single week. If you are relying on news coverage, you may only hear that a clause has been agreed once it is too late to act.

Frontbench automatically tracks the Finance Bill alongside every other bill, debate and committee relevant to your work, and tells you when something moves. If you want to see which Budget measures touch your organisation, get a free Budget briefing.

FAQ

When will the Finance Bill become law?

No date has been set. Last year's bill took 15 weeks from first reading to Royal Assent. On a similar pace, this year's bill would become law in the spring of 2027 and be called the Finance Act 2027.

Can the Finance Bill be changed?

Yes, within limits. The government can and does amend its own bill, often after hearing evidence. Other MPs can table amendments, but those that would raise or create a tax are usually out of order, so most ask for a review or report instead.

Can the House of Lords block the Finance Bill?

No. By convention the Lords does not amend Finance Bills, and a bill certified as a money bill becomes law after one month whether or not the Lords agrees.

Who can submit evidence on the Finance Bill?

Anyone. Once the Public Bill Committee is set up, written evidence goes to the committee through the Parliament website. It is most useful if it names the clauses it covers and arrives before the committee debates them.

Why do some Budget changes apply before the bill passes?

Budget resolutions can give some changes, such as duty rates, temporary legal force under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968, on condition that the Finance Bill completes its passage within set time limits.

Sources

• UK Parliament, Finance Bill (Bill 173, 2026 to 2027 session), stages and documents, checked 9 November 2026.
• UK Parliament, Finance Bill as introduced, 3 November 2026.
• UK Parliament, Finance Act 2026, stages and written evidence, checked 9 November 2026.
• Treasury Committee, Budget 2026 inquiry, checked 9 November 2026.
• HM Treasury, Budget 2026 (HC 726), 28 October 2026.