Autumn Budget 2026: What Changed for Your Small Business

Chancellor John Healey delivered the Autumn Budget 2026 on Wednesday 28 October, and the headline tax rates did not move. The autumn budget 2026 changes are targeted instead: cheaper business rates for shops, pubs and cafés, a higher wage bill from next April, new rules if you plan to sell your business, and higher tax on rental and savings income. Here is what was confirmed, with each effective date, and what to do about it this month.

The autumn budget 2026 changes that matter most

Most of the big changes start on 1 April or 6 April 2027, so you have time to plan.

Business rates: a real saving for shops, pubs and cafés

From 1 April 2027, the threshold for full Small Business Rate Relief for retail, hospitality and leisure premises in England rises from £12,000 to £18,000 of rateable value, with tapered relief up to £21,000 — a further 70,000 businesses will pay no business rates at all. Every other retail, hospitality and leisure property has its bill frozen in real terms for two years, until 31 March 2029. Pubs, social clubs and most live music venues get an extra 20% relief, taking their total to 35% for 2027/28 and 2028/29.

Note: these thresholds apply in England — rates are devolved elsewhere. Vape shops and adult gaming centres lose eligibility from April 2027.

Your wage bill rises from 1 April 2027

The National Living Wage rises by 3.9% to £13.21 an hour from 1 April 2027, and the rate for 18 to 20-year-olds rises to £11.27 an hour — about £910 a year more in gross pay for a full-time worker on the Living Wage. If you employ staff on or near the minimum, rebuild your payroll budget now, and check any fixed-price contracts running past April.

Planning to sell? The relief rules change on 6 April 2027

Business Asset Disposal Relief, which gives a lower Capital Gains Tax rate when you sell your business, has its lifetime limit cut from £1 million to £500,000 from 6 April 2027. If you were counting on the full £1 million limit, the timing of a sale just became a real tax decision — but get advice before you sign anything, because rushing a sale to beat a deadline can cost more than the tax it saves.

On the other side, a new Founders' Relief from 6 April 2027 offers a 10% Capital Gains Tax rate on up to £10 million of lifetime gains for qualifying founders of high-growth, innovative companies. The detailed rules are still being consulted on, so do not bank on qualifying yet.

Side hustles get more breathing room

The Trading Allowance triples from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027, so you can earn up to £3,000 a year from trading or miscellaneous income tax-free. Helpful if you run a side business alongside a job — but keep records from day one anyway, because the allowance covers the tax, not the paperwork.

Landlords and savers: higher rates from April 2027

From 6 April 2027, tax rates on property and savings income rise to 24%, 44% and 49% across the basic, higher and additional bands, and unused pension funds come into inheritance tax. If you hold rental property or significant savings, your 2027/28 tax bill needs a fresh look.

Driving for work: fuel duty frozen, mileage improved

The 5p fuel duty cut and freeze are extended to 1 July 2027. The 55p-per-mile tax-free rate for the first 10,000 business miles is now permanent, and the rate above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p from 6 April 2027. If you or your staff drive for work, update your expenses policy and log every business mile.

Selling online? VAT collection is tightening

From October 2027, online marketplaces will have to collect VAT on sales by UK businesses making more than £90,000 of sales through the marketplace. The government also plans mandatory VAT e-invoicing from April 2029. If you sell through a marketplace, check your statements carefully once the change lands — VAT collected wrongly is still your problem to sort out with HMRC.

What did not change — and why that matters

The headline rates of income tax, National Insurance and VAT are unchanged, corporation tax stays capped at 25%, and dividend tax rates are unchanged. Income tax thresholds stay frozen until April 2031, so fiscal drag keeps quietly pulling more of your income into tax as pay rises. Full expensing stays in place, and the main-rate first-year capital allowance rises to 50% for qualifying spending from 1 January 2027, although the main writing-down allowance falls to 12% from April 2027 — so time any big equipment purchase carefully.

Making Tax Digital: a little breathing room

If you join Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from April 2027, a 12-month penalty easement applies. Quarterly updates still have to be sent, but it takes some of the fear out of the first year.

What to do this month

This week: check whether your premises qualify for the new rates relief, and re-run your payroll budget at the April 2027 wage rates. Before April: if you are thinking of selling, talk to an adviser about the lower disposal relief limit before you commit to a date; landlords and savers should get a 2027/28 tax estimate. All year: keep mileage logs and digital records up to date.

What to avoid: do not rush a business sale or a salary-and-dividend reshuffle purely to beat a Budget date, and do not assume a measure applies to you until you have checked the detail — several are England-only, and the Founders' Relief rules are not final yet. If you want help working out what the Budget means for your business, talk to us, see our bookkeeping services, or browse the blog.

The full detail is in the official Budget 2026 document on GOV.UK, the source for every measure above.