Budget 2026 set for 28 October: fleet tax policy deadline

Mark your calendars: the Budget lands on Wednesday 28 October, confirmed by John Healey MP in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee. For fleets running multi-year replacement cycles and BIK forecasts, that's the date fiscal policy on vehicle taxation and fuel duty either firms up or gets rewritten. HM Treasury

The announcement came on Friday 31 July, framed as one built on fiscal discipline that will meet the government's fiscal rules, while shifting power and money away from Westminster. HM Treasury has also opened a Budget Representation Portal for public and industry input, closing at 23:59 on Wednesday 9 September, with submissions collated and passed to policy officials. That's a narrow window if the sector wants a formal say on anything from EV incentives to van taxation before Treasury minds are made up. HM Treasury

Why this matters: Fleet operators and industry bodies have until 9 September to lodge representations through the portal, and 28 October to brace for whatever lands on fuel duty, company car tax or capital allowances. Get any case for policy change in early - by the time the Budget speech starts, the drafting is long finished.