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Budget 2026: what changes, when it starts, and what to do next.

Budget 2026 · Roseworth Insight29/10/2026

The Budget was delivered on 28 October 2026. For business owners, the useful question is which changes affect your next payroll, tax bill, investment or sale. Here are the main dates for directors, employers, sole traders and landlords, checked against the Treasury and HMRC publications on 29 October 2026.

Most future tax measures still require legislation. An announcement is not the same as a rule already in force. Devolved taxes, eligibility conditions and your circumstances can change the outcome.

The dates to put in your diary

1 January 2027 — Investment. The main-rate first-year capital allowance is due to increase from 40% to 50% for qualifying expenditure. Check the asset and expenditure date before assuming relief applies.

1 April 2027 — Payroll and premises. The National Living Wage rises to £13.21 an hour for workers aged 21 and over. New business-rates support begins for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure premises in England. The main writing-down allowance falls to 12% for Corporation Tax.

6 April 2027 — Personal and business tax. Higher savings and property income rates, a £3,000 Trading Allowance, a lower Business Asset Disposal Relief lifetime limit, proposed Founders’ Relief and higher long-distance business-mileage rates are scheduled to start. The 12% main writing-down allowance starts for Income Tax.

October 2027 — Marketplace VAT. Online marketplace liability is intended to extend to relevant sales by UK businesses; scope and implementation details matter.

April 2029 — Tax administration. More frequent Self Assessment payments on account are planned. Mandatory VAT e-invoicing is scheduled for 1 April 2029.

Employers: start with your April payroll

From 1 April 2027 the announced hourly minimums are £13.21 for ages 21+, £11.27 for ages 18–20, and £8.31 for under-18s and eligible apprentices. The apprentice rate does not apply to every apprentice: age and apprenticeship year matter.

Our practical suggestion: model the wage increase now, then review pay differentials, paid working time and salary-sacrifice arrangements before the first affected payroll. A higher headline hourly rate is only part of the employment-cost calculation.

Landlords and savers: check the new rates, not last year’s headlines

From 6 April 2027 the announced savings income rates are 24%, 44% and 49% across the UK. Property income rates are also set at 24%, 44% and 49% for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Check the devolved position separately for Scottish property income.

These are a further two percentage points above the 22%, 42% and 47% rates previously announced for 2027/28. Allowances and reliefs still matter: these rates do not mean every pound of rent or bank interest is taxable.

The Budget does not introduce another dividend-rate rise. Current dividend rates remain 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35%, subject to the applicable allowance and your tax band. Headline tax rates on earnings, National Insurance and VAT are not increased by this Budget. The government is retaining the £20,000 annual cash ISA limit.

Selling a business: two different relief stories

The Business Asset Disposal Relief lifetime limit is due to fall from £1 million to £500,000 from 6 April 2027. It is a limit on qualifying gains across your lifetime, not a fresh allowance for each sale.

Separately, proposed Founders’ Relief would offer 10% Capital Gains Tax on up to £10 million of qualifying lifetime gains from 6 April 2027. It targets eligible founders and early investors in high-growth, innovative companies. Significant shareholding, ownership-history and company-performance conditions are proposed; the design is under technical consultation. It is not a general 10% rate for anyone selling a business.

If an exit or restructuring is on your agenda, obtain a calculation against the actual ownership history and transaction. Do not accelerate or delay a sale on a headline alone.

Investing: distinguish first-year relief from annual relief

The planned 50% main-rate first-year allowance begins on 1 January 2027. The 12% main writing-down allowance begins on 1 April 2027 for Corporation Tax and 6 April 2027 for Income Tax. These are different reliefs, not alternative descriptions of the same deduction.

The £1 million Annual Investment Allowance and qualifying 100% full expensing remain available under their own conditions. Ask which relief applies before committing to an asset purchase.

High-street businesses: check eligibility before budgeting a saving

From 1 April 2027, qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England are due to receive 100% Small Business Rates Relief up to a rateable value of £18,000, with tapering up to £21,000. Other qualifying premises have a two-year real-terms bill freeze, not necessarily a cash freeze. Pubs, social clubs and eligible live-music venues receive additional support bringing relief to 35%. Exclusions apply; this is not blanket relief for every business property.

Small trading income, mileage and online selling

The Trading Allowance and associated trading-income reporting threshold are due to rise to £3,000 from 6 April 2027. This concerns relevant income before expenses, not a universal £3,000 profit exemption or an allowance for limited-company turnover. Compare the allowance with actual allowable expenses.

For qualifying business car and van mileage, 55p for the first 10,000 miles already applies from 6 April 2026. The rate above 10,000 miles is due to rise from 25p to 35p on 6 April 2027. Keep mileage records and distinguish reimbursement rates from the tax saving.

From October 2027, marketplaces are intended to collect VAT on relevant consumer sales by UK VAT-registered businesses and other UK businesses meeting a minimum £90,000 annual-sales threshold per platform. The proposal excludes personal sales, second-hand goods and business-to-business transactions. It does not simply remove sellers’ wider VAT responsibilities.

Prepare for the administration changes

VAT e-invoicing was announced at Budget 2025; this Budget adds an implementation roadmap for 1 April 2029. Structured invoice data is different from emailing a PDF. Scope, exemptions and technical requirements are still being developed. Include invoicing compatibility in your next software review.

From April 2029, Self Assessment taxpayers already making payments on account are expected to make smaller, more frequent in-year payments. The detailed arrangements require further work. Consider the cash-flow implications without assuming a final payment schedule has been published.

What Roseworth recommends doing now

Identify your affected income, employees, premises and planned transactions. Build the dates into your cash-flow forecast, keep evidence supporting relief claims, and arrange a review before changing payroll, investments or ownership. The appropriate action depends on the whole picture.

For a review, contact your usual Roseworth team member, email info@roseworth.co, or use staff.roseworth.co/book/. Existing-client appointments are requests subject to staff confirmation; paid non-client consultations are clearly priced before payment.

This is a selected business and personal-tax briefing, not an exhaustive account of every spending, duty or sector-specific measure. It is general information, not personalised advice. Planned measures remain subject to legislation and subsequent guidance.

Official sources

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2026-document/budget-2026-html. Summarised automatically from the official source — general information, not advice.

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