Autumn Budget 2026: What It Means for Small Businesses and Landlords

The Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 did not raise the headline rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT. Most of the changes start in April 2027, and landlords and business owners planning a sale are the most affected. Here is what changed for each group, when it takes effect and what to do now.

Announced, Not Yet Law

A Budget is a set of announcements. Most of the tax changes below will be legislated in Finance Bill 2026-27, which still has to pass through Parliament. Some, such as the higher mileage rate and the MTD exemptions, need secondary legislation. Founders' Relief is still out to consultation until 30 November 2026. The details could change before they take effect, so treat this as the current plan rather than settled law.

Key Changes at a Glance

Landlords

This is the biggest change for most of our clients. The November 2025 Budget had already set separate income tax rates for property income of 22%, 42% and 47% from April 2027. This Budget adds two more percentage points, so from 6 April 2027 rental profits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to be taxed at 24% for basic rate, 44% for higher rate and 49% for additional rate taxpayers. The Scottish and Welsh governments have been given powers to set their own property income rates. Savings income gets the same increase.

The government will also consult on asking more third parties to report property income data to HMRC, so expect HMRC to have more information about rents.

What to do now: work out what the new rates do to your after-tax rental return. If you are thinking about changing ownership between spouses, incorporating or selling, review it before April 2027. Our landlord accountancy service can model the options.

Sole Traders and Side Businesses

The trading allowance triples from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027, and the Self Assessment reporting threshold for trading income is being set at £3,000 too. That helps people with small side incomes, such as occasional online selling or odd jobs. The approved mileage rate for business miles above 10,000 a year rises from 25p to 35p from 6 April 2027.

The Budget also confirmed that income tax and National Insurance thresholds stay frozen until April 2031.

What to do now: if you travel a lot for work, keep accurate mileage records. If your side income is close to £3,000, check whether you will still need to file a return from 2027/28.

Making Tax Digital

The MTD for Income Tax timetable is unchanged. The threshold drops to £30,000 of qualifying income from April 2027. People joining then will not get penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2027/28, the same soft landing given to April 2026 joiners. That reprieve is not being extended for the April 2026 group: from 2027/28 they will get a point for each missed update, starting with the 7 August 2027 deadline. Late final returns still count in both cases. Some groups will also be exempt from MTD until further notice under secondary legislation due before April 2027, including foster carers who qualify for qualifying care relief, certain non-residents, and people HMRC cannot yet provide a digital service for. Our Making Tax Digital guide covers the details.

Limited Company Directors and Contractors

Corporation tax stays at 19% and 25%, employer NI stays at 15%, and dividend tax rates were not changed. The main changes for companies are to capital allowances. The main rate first-year allowance rises from 40% to 50% for spending on or after 1 January 2027, and the main writing-down allowance falls from 14% to 12% from April 2027. Full expensing remains in place. The government will also go ahead with an overhaul of how company distributions are taxed from 6 April 2028. We will cover that once the detail is published.

The Business Asset Disposal Relief lifetime limit halves to £500,000 for disposals on or after 6 April 2027. Alongside it, a new Founders' Relief is proposed with a 10% CGT rate on up to £10 million of lifetime gains for qualifying founders. Who will qualify is still being consulted on.

What to do now: if you are planning to sell or close your company and your gains could go above £500,000, check the timing with us before 6 April 2027. Plan any large equipment purchases around the allowance changes. Contractors should review their salary and dividend mix as usual. Our contractor accountants can help.

CIS Subcontractors

We have not found any Budget change to CIS deduction rates or the gross payment status tests in the published documents. Subcontractors are affected by the wider changes above, including the threshold freeze, the mileage rate rise and MTD from April 2027 if their gross income is over £30,000.

What to do now: keep your CIS statements and expense records up to date. Your gross turnover, not your profit, decides whether MTD applies to you.

Next Steps

Most measures start in April 2027, so you have time to plan, but the decisions about selling and restructuring need to be made before that date. Our tax planning service can review your position against the new rules.

This article is general guidance based on the Budget documents published on 28 October 2026. It is not advice for your circumstances, and the measures may change before they become law.