Autumn Budget 2026: What It Means for Your Business

When you run a business, a Budget quickly comes down to a few questions: will my costs go up, will I pay more tax, and is there anything that will make life a little easier?

There is some welcome help in today's announcements, particularly for smaller high street businesses and people starting out. There are also higher wage costs, changes to the tax you pay when selling a business, and plans for HMRC to collect more tax automatically.

We would start by looking at what changes the money coming into and going out of your business. Here is our guide to what matters, when it starts and what it could mean for you.

Employing staff: allow for a higher wage bill

Minimum wage rates rise by 3.9% from 1 April 2027.

When budgeting for pay rises, remember that the business may also have to pay more National Insurance and pension contributions.

Company cars and medical cover: tax collected through payslips

The way perks for Directors and employees are reported is changing. From 6 April 2027, employers must report company cars, vans, vehicle fuel and medical cover through their pay system each month, with the employee's tax collected through their payslips. This is called payrolling benefits. This is instead of the end of year P11d.

Most other taxable perks follow from 6 April 2028. Loans (e.g. Director’s Loans) and accommodation provided by an employer are not included in these start dates.

This was announced before today's Budget. If it affects you, whoever runs your wages(including us) will need up-to-date details of the perks you provide throughout the year.

Help for self-employed new parents

A new Parental Allowance will come in from April 2029 to support eligible self-employed fathers, partners and adopters.

That could help cover the bills while you take time away when a child arrives. We are still waiting to hear how much people will receive, how long payments will last and exactly who can claim. The announcement provides financial support; it does not give self-employed people paid leave from an employer.

Some breathing space on premises, energy and travel

Business rates: welcome help for the high street

Business rates are the council bills many businesses pay for their premises. From 1 April 2027, more shops, cafés and other eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England will pay no business rates.

The cut depends on your property's rateable value: the value used to calculate the bill, which is shown on your rates paperwork. The limit for a fully discounted bill rises from £12,000 to £18,000. A smaller discount will be available above £18,000, reducing to nothing at £21,000.

If your premises fall within the new limits, this could mean a useful saving each month (The £18,000 is a property value used for this calculation, not your sales or the amount of the saving.)

The business rates discount for eligible pubs, social clubs and live music venues rises from 15% to 35%. Eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will also have most bill increases limited to inflation in 2027/28 and 2028/29.

Energy help: check whether it is for your home or your business

The temporary 0% VAT rate on household electricity is extended through 30 June 2027. There is also a £100 Household Energy Payment for households in council tax bands A to D in England, delivered by councils from January 2027. Funding will go to devolved governments for support elsewhere in the UK.

That may help your household budget, but it does not cut VAT on business energy or gas bills.

Using your own vehicle for work

If you use your own car or van for business journeys, you can claim business mileage.

The 55p rate, already in place from 6 April 2026, becomes permanent. For example, 1,000 business miles at 55p allows an employer to pay £550 tax-free. For a self-employed person using this method, it means £550 taken off the profit used to calculate tax, rather than a £550 tax refund.

A previously announced 5p-per-litre cut in fuel duty, the tax on petrol and diesel, continues through 30 June 2027, with the planned inflation increase deferred until July too. The temporary 3.7p red diesel duty cut also continues through June.

Starting a business, buying equipment or planning a sale

Earning a little from a small business or side job

From 6 April 2027, people with small amounts of income from working for themselves can generally earn up to £3,000 a year before expenses without paying Income Tax on it, up from £1,000 currently. This is called the trading allowance.

If you earn more, you can generally choose to take this allowance off your income instead of taking off your actual business costs. You cannot claim both against the same income. This could be useful if you are testing a business idea or earning a little alongside your main job.

There is also a planned Young Entrepreneurs Allowance pilot in England, helping successful applicants with living costs in their first year of business. We are waiting for the amount, qualifying ages and application dates before anyone can build this into a start-up budget.

Buying equipment: how quickly can it reduce your tax bill?

Buying equipment can reduce the profit your business pays tax on. The rules decide whether you can deduct the full cost straight away or spread it over several years. These deductions are known as capital allowances.

Many small businesses can deduct the whole cost of eligible equipment straight away using a separate allowance with a £1 million annual limit. Companies can also use an existing 100% upfront deduction for qualifying new equipment.

However, where equipment purchases fall outside what is allowed under these rules, there have been changes to the allowances.

For purchases covered by allowance being changed, you can deduct 50% of the cost in the first year, up from 40%, for spending from 1 January 2027. This is the First-Year Allowance.

Where costs are deducted gradually, the main annual deduction falls from 14% to 12% of the balance still to be claimed. This is the writing-down allowance. The change starts on 1 April 2027 for companies and 6 April 2027 for self-employed businesses. It means waiting longer to get the full tax saving.

Selling your business: you may pay more tax on the sale

When you sell a business, you may pay tax on the profit you make from the sale. This is Capital Gains Tax: it is worked out on the gain, rather than simply the amount the buyer pays you.

A special tax rate for eligible business owners currently allows 18% tax on up to £1 million of qualifying gains over their lifetime. From 6 April 2027, that limit falls to £500,000. The rate stays at 18%. The scheme's name is Business Asset Disposal Relief, often shortened to BADR.

There is separate help planned for some founders of fast-growing, innovative UK companies and significant early investors. Founders' Relief, due to start from 6 April 2027, would charge 10% on up to £10 million of qualifying gains over a lifetime.

If retirement or a sale is on the horizon, speak to us before agreeing the deal so we can work out what you would actually keep after tax.

HMRC is changing how it collects tax

These announcements may feel a long way off, but they could change how you manage money in the business.

Selling through an online marketplace

If you sell through an online marketplace, the website may soon collect the VAT on your sales for you. From 1 October 2027, this applies to eligible sales by UK businesses registered for VAT, and other UK businesses selling more than £90,000 a year through one platform. Personal sales, second-hand goods and sales to other businesses are excluded from this extension.

This does not replace the usual rules for registering for VAT.

Direct Debits for VAT and tax collected from wages

Businesses will need to set up a Direct Debit for VAT and PAYE payments to HMRC from 1 April 2029 and 6th April 2029, respectively.. This will mean HMRC will take your VAT or PAYE bills automatically from your bank account.

Paying your personal tax bill more often

If you complete a personal tax return, you may already make advance payments towards your next bill in January and July. These are called payments on account. From April 2029, people in that system will make smaller, more regular payments during the year instead.

Payments will be automatic, for example by Direct Debit. If you also have enough wages or pension income, you can choose to have the money collected from that income. The government has not yet decided how often the new payments will be taken.

Your 31 January tax return deadline stays. The amount of tax is not changing because of this reform; the timing is. Payments will start from the previous year's tax bill, with changes possible if your circumstances change.

Recovering tax debts from bank accounts

New powers are planned from July 2029, starting with companies before individuals. They would let HMRC collect confirmed overdue tax in instalments directly from bank accounts where someone can afford to pay but repeatedly ignores attempts to arrange payment. The limits are £5,000 for individuals and £10,000 for companies.

HMRC would first have to try its normal collection methods, check what you can afford and give you notice.

Correcting errors from April 2028

From 1 April 2028, new rules will make it an explicit requirement to put things right when you discover a mistake in a tax return or other tax document.

If you spot something wrong, tell us promptly. Keeping a clear record of what happened and putting it right is much easier than leaving a known error unresolved.

Your personal finances matter too

Higher tax on savings and rental income

If you earn interest on personal savings or profit from renting out property, the tax rates are rising again from 6 April 2027. The rates will be 24%, 44% and 49%, depending on your income and tax band. That is a further increase of 2 percentage points from what was planned originally.

The savings rates apply across the UK. The property rates apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland needs a separate check. These changes do not affect the tax rates on your company's profits.

Tax-free savings and help to save for a home

An ISA lets you save or invest without paying tax on the interest or investment returns inside it. The planned cut in the cash ISA limit from £20,000 to £12,000 for under-65s has been cancelled. You can still put up to £20,000 a year into cash ISAs, whatever your age.

A proposed Starter ISA would encourage people to invest in stocks and shares for the first time. The government are still working out the details.

Separately, a First Time Buyer ISA is due on 6 April 2029. It replaces the Lifetime ISA for new savers. You can put in £4,000 a year, and the government adds 25% of the final balance when you use the money for an eligible first home. The maximum bonus is £20,000 and the home must cost no more than £450,000. People with an existing Lifetime ISA, or LISA, can keep using it under its existing rules.

Help with a first home

The Your First Home scheme starts in April 2027, with applications expected from February 2027. Eligible first-time buyers purchasing a newly built home in England can put down a deposit of at least 2.5%, with the government lending 20% of the price, interest-free for five years.

A few more dates for the diary

Electronic invoices, 1 April 2029: VAT invoices will need to use a set electronic format that software can read, rather than simply any document sent by email. Keep that in mind when choosing accounting software.

Giving staff a stake in the business, 6 April 2027: a government-approved scheme lets companies offer staff the right to buy shares on favourable tax terms. The limit per employee rises from £60,000 to £120,000. The scheme is being renamed EMI2. It may help growing companies recruit and keep staff.

Conclusion

There is plenty to take in from this Budget, but what matters most is how it affects your business and the money you take home. Some changes could bring savings, while others will mean higher costs or a different way of paying tax. At Stryde, we can help you work out which changes apply to you and what, if anything, you need to do next. If you would like to talk it through, get in touch—we’re here to help.

Based on announcements published on 28 October 2026. Some measures still need legislation or final rules. Earlier reforms confirmed in the Budget documents are included where relevant.