Millions of people will be worse off despite Jeremy Hunt crowing about a National Insurance cut.
Britain is still set to be lumbered with the heaviest tax burden since the Second World War. The Chancellor may have cut National Insurance, but let's not forgot that the threshold for when you start to pay this tax remains frozen until 2028.
This effectively means more people are still being dragged into paying tax when they get a pay rise. Labour said voters “won’t be taken for fools”. Economic growth forecasts have been halved and inflation is also predicted to be worse than expected.
Other announcements today include rises to some benefits, including Universal Credit, and the state pension. But it was confirmed there will be tougher benefit sanctions, including forcing disabled people to work from home.
The speech was delivered today in the House of Commons and we've broken down some of the key policies announced - and how they affect you. You can also use our calculator below to see how each change impacts your finances.
What it means if you pay tax
The Chancellor went further than expected by cutting the main headline rate of Class 1 National Insurance contributions from 12% to 10% from January 6 next year. This will put hundreds more pounds in the pockets of 27million Brits.
But the threshold from when you start paying National Insurance - which currently sits at £12,570 - remains frozen until 2028. This means more people are still being dragged into paying tax when they get a pay rise.
For the self-employed, Class 2 contributions are being abolished and Class 4 contributions are being reduced from 9% to 8%. The Chancellor says changes to both Class 2 and Class 4 contributions will save two million self-employed people around £350 a year.
Class 2 contributions are currently set at a fixed weekly rate of £3.45 and are paid if your profits are more than £12,570 a year. Class 4 contributions are also charged on profits above £12,570 a year.
What it means if you claim benefits
It was a mixed bag for people claiming benefits. The Chancellor today announced he will increase some benefits, including Universal Credit, by 6.7% next April, in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for the previous September.
Earlier this week, it had been reported that the Treasury was considering using the smaller October inflation figure of 4.6% to raise benefits. It means someone on Universal Credit will be around £470 a year better off.
But in not-so-good news, benefit recipients who do not get a job within 18 months will be forced to take on work experience under stricter new rules confirmed today. Those who do not comply will have their benefits, including access to free prescriptions and legal aid, cut off.
What it means if you have a state pension
State pensions will rise by 8.5% next April - after Mr Hunt confirmed he will use a higher measure of increase. The triple lock guarantee makes sure the state pension rises every April by whichever is highest out of: inflation (using the previous September rate of Consumer Prices Index inflation), wages (average growth between May and July), or 2.5%.
The highest of these for this year is average wages, which was confirmed to be 8.5% - but there had been rumours that the Chancellor was considering using a lower figure of 7.8%, based on average wages excluding bonuses.
What it means if you're a first-time buyer
Not a huge deal was announced in the Autumn Statement for first-time buyers. The only major measure confirmed today was hidden in the policy documents published after the speech, which revealed the mortgage guarantee scheme is being extended again.
The mortgage guarantee scheme allows first-time buyers take out a mortgage with a 5% deposit - the Government then promises to cover some costs if your lender loses money. But the scheme has previously been criticised for offering more expensive rates compared to higher deposit home loans.
It was extended for 12 months last year and was due to end this year in December 2023. It will now run until June 2025. The Chancellor failed to mention any changes to Stamp Duty or any ISA reforms to help first-time buyers as they save.
What it means if you smoke or drink
Alcohol duty will be frozen until August 2024, meaning no increase in duty on beer, cider, wine or spirits. However, tobacco duty will rise.
The duty on hand-rolling tobacco will go up by 10% over the tobacco duty escalator. The tobacco duty escalator increases duty at the RPI rate of inflation - currently 6.1% - plus an additional 2%.
The duty rate on all tobacco products will increase by the tobacco duty escalator of 2% above RPI inflation.
What it means if you're a saver
Savers will be allowed to open multiple ISAs of the same type every year from April 2024. At the moment, you can only open one of each type of ISA in a single tax year - for example, one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA.
This means some people end up being left with a low-paying account, and no way to move to a new ISA when a better rate becomes available. The age you can open an ISA from will be raised from 16 to 18.
But the savings threshold for cash and stocks and shares ISAs was kept the same at £20,000, as was the £9,000 for a junior ISA and £4,000 for the Lifetime ISA.
Savers could also be given the right to pick "one person pot for life" that all your current and future employers can pay into - potentially putting an end to savers having multiple smaller pots. Most employees are auto-enroled into their workplace pension.