Hello,
The wait is finally over; Autumn Budget 2026 has been presented by Chancellor John Healey. As ever, the speech is only the start, with much of the Budget’s substance in the supporting documents.
Those joining Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax from April 2027 will be pleased to hear that late submission penalty points will not apply to quarterly updates for the 2027-28 tax year.
Many entrepreneurs will be disappointed that the Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) lifetime limit will be halved from £1 million to £500,000 next April. At the same time, however, a new Founders’ Relief for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will be introduced, which will soften the blow for some.
Under Founders’ Relief, founder shareholders of certain high-growth and innovative companies will qualify for a 10% CGT rate on up to £10 million of lifetime gains. The scope of this new relief is more limited than BADR, and there are several specific conditions that will need to be met. To those who can qualify, Founders’ Relief has the potential to be very valuable.
In another announcement, the government has confirmed that it will proceed with changes to the company distributions framework. These revisions to existing rules are likely to present challenges when navigating issues around corporate restructuring and succession planning.
There is, however, some good news for companies. In its response to the ‘Reporting company payments to participators’ consultation, the government has announced it will not implement any new reporting requirements at this time. The consultation responses demonstrated that companies were struggling to meet their existing reporting obligations, with a lack of understanding of, and compliance with, the current rules, making additional rules undesirable.
For individuals, we previously knew that next April would see the introduction of separate, and increased, rates of Income Tax for savings and property income. As a result of this Budget, the rates that will apply will now be four percentage points above the general rates of Income Tax, not two percentage points as previously announced.
The government has also made clear how it will deal with the value of the full State Pension exceeding the personal allowance in 2027-28: a new Pension Tax Allowance will be introduced. This won’t be without complexity, as it will be tapered as income levels increase.
The few paragraphs above barely scratch the surface of this Budget. As promised, the rossmartin.co.uk team has been working overnight to bring you comprehensive, practical coverage.
Our freeview ‘At a glance’ guide below gives you a concise overview of the main tax measures announced by the Chancellor.
Subscribers can also access 11 exclusive guides, prepared after a close reading of the Budget small print. Each one cuts through the detail to give you a clear, practical summary of what has changed, who is affected and what it means for your clients, so you can hit the ground running.
If you are not already a rossmartin.co.uk subscriber, you can Sign up here. As well as gaining instant access to our current detailed Budget coverage, you can look forward to additional expert analysis in the coming days and weeks.
Be sure to benefit from our Budget Update webinar, where you will hear practical insights and planning strategies essential to your clients.
More news, cases and updates below.
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Autumn Budget 2026
Autumn Budget 2026: At a glance
The Chancellor, John Healey, presented his Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026. This is our 'At a glance' summary of the key tax announcements and measures.
Capital Gains Tax: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include the introduction of Founders’ Relief, a new CGT relief aimed at company founders and early investors, and a decrease in the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR).
Companies: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes for companies announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include modernising the distributions framework, claiming R&D relief will be simplified, and proposals to introduce new requirements to report transactions between close companies and their participators to HMRC have been shelved.
Income Tax and National Insurance (for individuals): Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to Income Tax and National Insurance (for individuals) announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include a further increase to savings and property Income Tax rates, a tripling of the trading allowance, an increase in simplified expenses fixed-rate deductions, and the introduction of a new Pension Tax Allowance.
Employment Taxes: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to employment taxes announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include an increase in National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates, developments to employee share schemes and an increase in Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs).
VAT: Autumn Budget 2026
VAT changes announced in the 2026 Autumn Budget include an extension to the online marketplace VAT rules and the zero rate of VAT on domestic electricity. A roadmap outlining the new e-invoicing requirements to be implemented in April 2029 has also been issued.
Compliance & Administration: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to compliance and administration announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 included introducing more timely payments for Self Assessment and provisions to allow HMRC to directly recover low-value tax debt and to require the payment of VAT and PAYE return liabilities by Direct Debit.
Capital Allowances: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to Capital Allowances announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include a reduction in the main rate writing-down allowance, an increase in the main rate first-year allowance and an expansion to the finance lease definition relevant to lease and leaseback arrangements.
Land & Property: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to land and property announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include a tightening of the Stamp Duty Land Tax Group Relief rules, increases in the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings rates and provision for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge.
Inheritance Tax: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include technical amendments to the new pension IHT rules.
Overseas & Residence: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes to overseas and residence announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include a new Sovereign Tax Status regime, reforms for UK investors in certain foreign entities, changes to the foreign permanent establishment exemption and a future consultation on offshore penalties.
Large Corporates: Autumn Budget 2026
Changes for large corporates announced at the 2026 Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 include a temporary 3% increase to the Banking Surcharge, a new Oil and Gas Revenue Levy, and the repeal of the ACT regime.
Quick News
Employer Bulletin: October 2026
HMRC have published their Employer Bulletin for October 2026. Key content includes an update on mandatory payrolling of Benefits In Kind (BIKs), as well as reminders on P11D and P11D(b) filing, common mistakes on Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) monthly returns and the opening of mandatory tax adviser registration for payroll agents.
One-to-many letters: Tracker
HMRC's latest one-to-many 'nudge' letters target taxpayers HMRC believe should have paid the High-Income Child Benefit Charge for 2024-25 and have yet to do so, and inbound expatriates, reminding them of the conditions for claiming tax relief for travel and accommodation costs relating to a temporary workplace.
Tax Cases (subscription content)
FTT rejects 'legitimate expectation' claim in VAT case
In Abbey Group Limited v HMRC [2026] TC10048, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found it lacked jurisdiction to determine a legitimate expectation claim against a VAT assessment. Even if it had, the FTT considered that the argument would have failed, as it was not unfair for HMRC to depart retrospectively from an officer's statement that had been relied on by the taxpayer, confirming recoverability of input tax.
Editor's Choice
This week's Editor's Choice was selected by Andrew Symons. You can meet our team of editors and writers here: Meet the team.
CGT Rollover Relief: Exchanges of joint interests in land
This guide outlines the form of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Rollover Relief available for exchanges of joint interests in land.
IHT: Transfers by close companies
What Inheritance Tax (IHT) provisions apply to transfers made by close companies? How is IHT calculated on these transfers? What impact do alterations to share capital or rights have? Are there any exclusions?
Overseas Workday Relief (OWR)
What is Overseas Workday Relief (OWR)? When does it apply? What are the recent changes to OWR?
Guides & Updates
Self-employed
Entertaining
Are the costs of business entertainment allowable for tax purposes? What is disallowed? What is allowed?
Directors & Companies
Directors' loan accounts: Toolkit (subscribers)
What is the tax treatment for an overdrawn director's loan account? What are the consequences of an outstanding loan to a participator?
Employers
Mandatory payrolling: Template letter to payroll clients
How can the April 2027 changes to the way employee benefits are reported and taxed be communicated to clients? What actions should an employer take now to be ready for mandatory payrolling?
Capital Allowances
Qualifying activities for capital allowances purposes
What are qualifying activities for capital allowances purposes? Which activities qualify and what restrictions apply to them? How do the rules interact with the cash basis, partnerships and other allowances?
Private Client & Estate Planning
CGT: Chattels
What are chattels? Is it a wasting or non-wasting chattel? How are capital gains on chattels taxed?
Overseas & Residence
Business Investment Relief (BIR)
Business Investment Relief (BIR) is a relief for formerly non-UK domiciled individuals, designed to encourage them to remit funds to invest in UK businesses. The abolition of the non-domicile regime has brought changes to BIR for both existing and future investments. Ultimately, the relief will cease from 5 April 2028.
More Tax Guides
Carrier Bag Charge
A 5p single-use plastic carrier bag charge was introduced in England in October 2015. From 21 May 2021, it was increased to 10p and extended to all retailers, regardless of size.
VAT
Books and printed matter
What are the VAT rules on books and printed matter? Which items qualify for zero-rating, and when is zero-rating lost where printed matter is supplied with other goods or services? What about e-publications?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Recent and upcoming webinars include:
- Budget Update - October 2026
- Corporation Tax Update and Refresher
- Practice Insight - October 2026 (free)
- Monthly Tax Update - October 2026
- Practice Insight - September 2026 (free)
- Monthly Tax Update - September 2026
- Practice Insight - July 2026 (free)
- Capital Gains Tax Planning Strategies to Maximise Net Proceeds (free)
Need Tax Support?
Virtual Tax Partner© Support
Have a tax query? Need a second opinion? Open a ticket and ask a question. A team of tax experts with a wide range of expertise, covering direct and indirect tax, as well as accounting, reorganisations and much more.
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- Cabinet Office faces £38.5m IR35 bill
- One-to-many letters: Tracker
- No capital loss for loan converted to shares
- IHT Business Property Relief: Estate planning
- IHT: Gifts with reservation
- CGT: Share-for-share exchanges...More
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