Every autumn, the UK collectively holds its breath. Somewhere between the first frost and the Christmas adverts, the Chancellor stands up at the despatch box, opens a red briefcase, and decides how much of your money is staying yours. The UK Autumn Budget 2026 is less “Great British Bake Off” and more “Great British Wait and See.”
This year, the wait ends on Wednesday 28 October 2026 — earlier than usual, and delivered for the first time by Chancellor John Healey, under new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. New faces at the top always bring extra uncertainty. However, the good news is that several changes tied to the UK Autumn Budget 2026 are already locked in, regardless of what gets announced on the day. So let’s separate what you know is coming from what you’re simply waiting to find out.
What’s already confirmed (write these in pen, not pencil)
Dividends get a bit more expensive. From the 2026-27 tax year, the dividend tax rate rises across the board — a two percentage point increase that affects basic and higher rate taxpayers alike. If you run a limited company and pay yourself through a salary-and-dividend mix, this is worth modelling now rather than leaving it to your accountant in March. Our Taxation & Compliance team can run the numbers with you.
Selling a business will cost more in tax. Capital Gains Tax on qualifying business asset disposals rises to 18% from 6 April 2026. If you’ve been quietly thinking about an exit, a sale, or bringing in an investor, timing that transaction just became a genuine financial decision, not just a lifestyle one.
Business rates are being reshuffled. Following the 2026 property revaluation, retail, hospitality and leisure premises will see new, permanently lower multipliers. That said, the revaluation itself may push up your rateable value — so the net effect depends entirely on your postcode and property. Restaurants, shops, and forecourts should check their new rateable value rather than assume “lower rate” automatically means “lower bill.”
Wage costs are rising. The National Living Wage increase is expected to benefit around 2.4 million workers with a meaningful annual pay rise — great news if you’re receiving it, a real line-item if you’re running payroll for a restaurant, grocery store, or retail team. Our CFO Services team can help you model the impact on next year’s payroll budget.
Making Tax Digital keeps expanding. Self Assessment taxpayers earning over £50,000 need to be using MTD for Income Tax from April 2026, with a grace period on late-filing penalties for the 2026-27 tax year. For an independent breakdown of what’s already confirmed for the UK Autumn Budget 2026, see BDO’s Autumn Budget 2026 FAQs.
What’s still genuinely up in the air
Healey and Burnham have both been tight-lipped so far. In Westminster terms, that usually means the real decisions haven’t been made yet — or they have, and nobody’s ready to say. Areas commentators are watching closely include inheritance tax relief on agricultural and business property, and whether further tweaks to business rates relief are on the way. As economist John Kenneth Galbraith once observed, the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable. So treat any pre-Budget prediction, including some of what’s written above, with a healthy pinch of salt.
What to actually do before the UK Autumn Budget 2026
- Model the dividend and CGT changes against your own numbers. A spreadsheet exercise now beats a surprise in your Self Assessment bill next January.
- Check your new business rates valuation if you operate from retail, hospitality, or forecourt premises. Don’t assume the headline “lower multiplier” applies to your actual bill.
- Budget for the wage increase in your 2026-27 payroll forecast, rather than treating it as an afterthought.
- Get Making Tax Digital-ready now, not in March. Software migration always takes longer than the tutorial video suggests.
- Avoid big, irreversible decisions purely on Budget rumours. Wait for the actual announcement — Budget leaks have a proud tradition of being wrong.
Benjamin Franklin’s line about death and taxes being the only certainties in life is a cliché for a reason. But the amount of tax, and when you pay it, is very much something you can plan around. That’s the whole point of preparing properly for the UK Autumn Budget 2026, before the briefcase opens rather than after.Brit Balance helps UK businesses turn Budget-day uncertainty into a plan they actually understand. If you’d like your numbers stress-tested against the 2026-27 changes, visit our Taxation & Compliance service or head straight to book a consultation