The Chancellor delivered the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026, announcing a wide range of tax changes affecting individuals, landlords and businesses.

Some measures take effect almost immediately, while many of the more significant changes begin from April 2027 or later.

There are some significant changes worth planning for, particularly if you:

• receive substantial savings or property income;
• are a landlord;
• are considering selling a business;
• expect to qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief;
• will be brought into Making Tax Digital for Income Tax;
• operate an online business or marketplace;
• buy business services from overseas; or
• are planning significant capital expenditure.

As always, the impact will depend on your individual circumstances.

 Here’s our summary of the key announcements and what they could mean for you.

From 6 April 2027, the income tax rates applying to savings income will increase to:

• 24% at the basic rate
• 44% at the higher rate
• 49% at the additional rate

This will increase the tax cost of savings income for many taxpayers.

Property income will also be subject to new rates from 6 April 2027, with rates of:

• 24% at the basic rate
• 44% at the higher rate
• 49% at the additional rate

Importantly for our Scottish clients, the Scottish and Welsh governments are being given the ability to set property income rates in line with their existing income tax powers.

A new Pension Tax Allowance (PTA) will be introduced.

From 6 April 2027, the full new State Pension will be £13,036 and the Pension Tax Allowance will initially be set at the same amount. It will taper away where an individual’s income exceeds this threshold.

The intention is to prevent low-income pensioners whose total annual income is no more than the full new State Pension from having to pay income tax.

The annual ISA allowance will remain at £20,000.

The previously planned reduction in the Cash ISA limit for people under 65 will therefore not go ahead.

From 6 April 2027, the Trading Allowance will rise from £1,000 to £3,000.

The trading income reporting threshold for Self Assessment will also increase to £3,000.

A package of measures affecting employee share schemes will apply from 6 April 2027.

The individual Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) limit will increase to £120,000, while the CSOP exercise period will extend to 15 years. There are also changes affecting the interaction between CSOP and Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), Employee Ownership Trusts and the EMI exercise window following a disqualifying event.

A new Capital Gains Tax Founders’ Relief is proposed for qualifying disposals of shares or securities taking place on or after 6 April 2027.

The relief is intended to support founders and early investors in high-growth and innovative UK companies.

A technical consultation is currently underway and closes on 30 November 2026, with legislation expected through Finance Bill 2026-27.

A significant change for business owners is the reduction in the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR).

For qualifying disposals made from 6 April 2027, the lifetime limit will fall from:

£1 million to £500,000.

Anyone considering the disposal of a business or shares where BADR may be available should take advice on the impact of the change.

Changes are also being made to capital allowances.

The main-rate first-year allowance will increase to 50% for expenditure incurred from 1 January 2027.

At the same time, the main-rate writing-down allowance will fall to 12%, applying from 1 April 2027 for Corporation Tax and 6 April 2027 for Income Tax.

There are some simplifications for companies making Research and Development tax relief claims.

For claims made on or after 1 April 2027, the requirement to submit a Claim Notification Form will be removed.

The information required on the Additional Information Form will also be simplified from autumn 2027.

There is an important concession for taxpayers joining Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in April 2027.

Late-submission penalty points will not apply to quarterly updates for 2027/28 for taxpayers required to join MTD for Income Tax in April 2027.

Certain groups will also be exempt from MTD until further notice, including taxpayers eligible for qualifying care relief, certain non-UK resident entertainers and sportspeople, and expected non-resident customers.

The temporary removal of 5% VAT on domestic electricity bills in Great Britain has been extended to July 2027.

From April 2029, taxpayers will be required to set up Direct Debit instructions to pay VAT and PAYE return liabilities

There is a particularly interesting change to the VAT treatment of services purchased from overseas.

From April 2027, the VAT reverse charge on business-to-business services received from overseas will apply only where the UK customer is VAT registered.

Where the UK business is not VAT registered, the overseas supplier will instead be required to charge and account for UK VAT.

From April 2027, VAT relief for energy-saving materials will be extended to include heat batteries installed in UK residential accommodation and charity buildings.

From 1 November 2026, electricity supplied through publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points will be standard-rated for VAT and will not qualify as domestic use for Climate Change Levy purposes.

From October 2027, online platforms will be required to collect and account for UK VAT on qualifying sales made by UK businesses.

Larger minicab and taxi operators will be required to account for VAT consistently on the full passenger fare. The announcement does not yet define what constitutes a “large” operator, so further detail will be important for businesses in this sector.

Other announcements include:

• a new zero rate for certain social housing land sales;
• zero-rating for donated medicines supplied free for clinical trials and NHS treatment;
• removal of the VAT exemption for medical practitioner deputies from May 2027, with standard deputising services becoming subject to the 20% standard rate; and
• changes to VAT accounting for unreturned deposits under the Deposit Return Scheme from October 2027.

HMRC is receiving an additional £70 million to tackle tax evasion.

From 1 April 2028, HMRC will also have new powers to issue a Customer Correction Notice where it has reason to suspect that information is inaccurate.

If you’d like to discuss how any of the Budget announcements could affect you or your business, please get in touch with the Prime Numbers team.