The Autumn Budget has now been announced and, while there were no major increases to the headline rates of Income Tax, National Insurance, VAT or Corporation Tax, there are still some important changes that could affect small business owners, landlords, sole traders and individuals.

Here are the main points you need to know.

Good news if you use your own car for business

The tax-free mileage allowance for employees and the tax-deductible mileage rate for self-employed people using their own cars or vans has increased.

The rate for the first 10,000 business miles increased temporarily to 55p per mile in April 2026, and the Budget has made that rate permanent.

From 6 April 2027, the rate for mileage above 10,000 miles will also increase from 25p to 35p per mile.

As always, remember that commuting between your home and your normal workplace isn't generally a business journey just because you happen to be travelling to work, and you need to keep a mileage log.

The Trading Allowance will increase to £3,000

The government is tripling the Income Tax Trading Allowance from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027. Subject to the usual conditions, this could mean that someone with gross trading income of no more than £3,000 has no Income Tax to pay on that income. However, the Trading Allowance is claimed instead of deducting actual business expenses, so it may not always be the best option.

This will be helpful for people with a small side business or occasional trading income.

Corporation Tax isn't increasing

There was no increase to the headline Corporation Tax rate.

However, there are changes to capital allowances. The main rate of writing down allowances will reduce from 14% to 12% from April 2027, while the main-rate First Year Allowance will increase from 40% to 50% from January 2027. Full expensing will also remain in place.

Selling your business? Business Asset Disposal Relief is being restricted

This is an important one for company owners who may be considering selling or closing their business.

The lifetime limit for gains qualifying for Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) will reduce from £1 million to £500,000 from 6 April 2027.

BADR can reduce the Capital Gains Tax payable when qualifying business owners dispose of their businesses or shares.

The change doesn't necessarily mean you should rush into a sale, but anyone considering selling a business with a substantial value should factor the April 2027 change into their tax planning.

Support for entrepreneurs

From April 2027, there will be a new Capital Gains Tax Founders' Relief, reducing Capital Gains Tax to 10% on up to £10 million of lifetime gains. However, this is intended for founders of qualifying high-growth, innovative companies and will be subject to detailed eligibility conditions, so it is unlikely to be available to every small business owner.

The Budget also promises enhancements to employee share ownership schemes, increased access to finance for innovative start-ups and scale-ups, and simpler administration to make R&D tax reliefs easier to access.

The government plans to pilot a Young Entrepreneurs Allowance, providing successful applicants with support towards living costs during the first year of their business.

There will also be support for female founders, helping with accessing finance, investor networks and the barriers women face working in the technology sector.

Minimum wage increases again

For employers, payroll costs will continue to rise.

From 1 April 2027, the National Living Wage will increase by 3.9% to £13.21 an hour.

The National Minimum Wage for employees aged 18 to 20 will also rise by 3.9%, to £11.27 an hour, and for employees aged 16 to 17 to £8.31.

Employers should therefore factor the increase into their staffing budgets for 2027/28, particularly where several employees are paid at or close to minimum wage.

Remember that the real cost of employing somebody is more than their hourly wage once Employer's National Insurance, workplace pension contributions, holiday entitlement and other employment costs are taken into account.

Parental pay expansion

Parental pay will be expanded to include self-employed fathers, partners and adopters from April 2029.

This is an important change for self-employed parents who are currently excluded from this support.

Business rates support for some small businesses

There's better news for some businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

From April 2027, the valuation thresholds for Small Business Rate Relief for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure premises will increase:

• the threshold for 100% relief rises from £12,000 to £18,000
• the upper threshold for tapered relief rises from £15,000 to £21,000.

Pubs, social clubs and live music venues will receive additional relief, while other qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties will benefit from transitional support designed to prevent above-inflation increases for two years.

A big change is coming to Self Assessment payments

From April 2029, the government intends to change the existing Payments on Account system.

Currently, if your income tax and class 4 national insurance liability is over £1,000 and not mainly covered by PAYE, you're required to make two payments on account, one in January during the tax year, and one in July following the end of the tax year.

Under new plans, those in the Payments on Account system will make smaller, more regular payments towards their tax bill during the year, bringing tax payments closer to when the income is earned. The government says it will continue working with taxpayers and stakeholders on how the new system will operate and we'll keep you updated.

Other payments

Businesses with VAT and PAYE liabilities will be required to set up a direct debit from April 2029. Different payment methods can be used towards the liabilities before a specified cut off date and then the direct debit will collect any unpaid balances.

The government will introduce a new power for HMRC to recover lower value tax debts directly from the bank accounts of individuals and companies for those that can afford to pay but repeatedly fail to do so. There will be a Code of Practice setting out the safeguards before it's introduced.

HMRC's debt management capabilities will receive a further £70 million of investment over the next 5 years.

These are a reminder to stay on top of your tax liabilities, save for them where possible, and communicate with HMRC if you're struggling to pay so that a plan can be put in place.

VAT e-invoicing is coming

Another administrative change VAT-registered businesses need to have on the radar is mandatory VAT e-invoicing from April 2029.

The government is publishing an implementation roadmap for the new system, which forms part of its wider programme to digitise tax administration.

2029 sounds a long way away, but this is another reason why moving towards good-quality cloud bookkeeping and digital record keeping sooner rather than later makes sense rather than waiting until the rules require it.

Landlords will pay more tax from April 2027

One of the biggest changes for landlords is a further 2 percentage point increase at the basic, higher and additional rates from 6 April 2027. This is in addition to the 2 percentage point increase announced at Budget 2025, meaning the rates will rise by 4 percentage points in total compared with the current rates.

That means tax rates on property income will become:

• 24% for basic-rate taxpayers
• 44% for higher-rate taxpayers
• 49% for additional-rate taxpayers

If you own personally-held rental properties, it will therefore become increasingly important to look at the overall profitability of your portfolio and understand the tax cost before making decisions about buying, selling or refinancing.

Savers will also pay more tax on interest

The same combined 4 percentage point increase will apply to tax on savings income from 6 April 2027. So, where savings income is taxable, the rates will also become:

• 24% at the basic rate
• 44% at the higher rate
• 49% at the additional rate.
  
  

This makes using tax-free savings allowances and ISAs even more relevant, particularly for people holding significant cash savings outside an ISA.

There was some good news here too. The government has abandoned the planned reduction in the Cash ISA limit, meaning the Cash ISA limit will remain at £20,000. Remember that this £20,000 limit is shared between the Stocks & Shares ISA and the Cash ISA.

The government will be working with industry to explore a new ISA incentive for people investing in a Stocks & Shares ISA for the first time.

Pension Tax Allowance

From April 2027, the full new State Pension will be higher than the tax-free Personal Allowance. The government is therefore introducing a new Pension Tax Allowance (PTA) so that pensioners whose total income is no more than the value of the full new State Pension aren't brought into paying Income Tax simply because of increases to the State Pension.

Where pensioners have small amounts of other income, their PTA is tapered.

What about household finances?

There were a few announcements outside business taxation which will still be relevant to many.

The government is providing a £100 Household Energy Payment from January 2027 to households in England in Council Tax bands A to D.

The temporary VAT cut on domestic electricity will also continue until July 2027, and the government says this is expected to reduce the annual Ofgem price cap by around £50 in April 2027.

Gas standing charges will be abolished over the next couple of years and whilst the costs will move to unit charges, it makes for a more fairer system where those that use less pay less.

The 5p fuel duty cut has also been extended, with both the cut and the freeze continuing until 1 July 2027.

The headline: not a dramatic Budget, but plenty to plan for

For most, today's Budget doesn't mean an immediate overhaul of their finances.

However, several changes are worth planning for now.

Landlords and people with significant savings income face higher Income Tax rates from April 2027.

Business owners considering a sale need to be aware of the reduction in the Business Asset Disposal Relief lifetime limit.

Employers need to budget for another increase in minimum wage costs.

And sole traders and landlords should be aware that the government's longer-term plans for Making Tax Digital and more regular Self Assessment tax payments will continue to change how they manage their tax affairs.

There is some good news too, including higher mileage rates, an increased Trading Allowance and targeted business rates relief.

As always with a Budget, the headlines don't tell you whether a change is good or bad for you. That depends on your income, business structure and individual circumstances.

If you're looking for a proactive accountant then get in touch with CJL Accountancy today.