30/10/2026
So Wednesday’s budget announcement 👀
I’ve picked through it for you… There’s a lot in it, so I’ve split it up by who it affects.
The headline is that Chancellor John Healey’s first Budget left the rates for income tax, National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax all the same. The thresholds are still frozen though, so as earnings creep up, more people will end up in a higher tax band!
💷 Sole traders and side hustles
• The trading allowance triples from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027. Earn less than that from a side hustle and you won’t need to register or pay tax on it.
• Making Tax Digital: if your self-employed or rental income was over £30,000 in 2025/26, you’re in from 6 April 2027. You won’t get penalty points for sending any of your first 4 quarterly updates late in 2027/28.
• Mileage: 55p a mile for your first 10,000 business miles is now permanent, and every mile after that goes up from 25p to 35p.
• Fuel duty stays frozen, with the 5p cut kept, until 1 July 2027.
🏠 Landlords
• Tax on rental income goes up by another 2 percentage points from April 2027, to 24%, 44% or 49% depending on your band. Keeping good records and claiming every cost you’re allowed matters more than ever.
🏦 Savers
• Savings income will also be taxed at 24%, 44% or 49%.
• The cash ISA limit stays at £20,000, and the planned cut to £12,000 has been scrapped.
👥 Employers
• From 1 April 2027 the National Living Wage goes up 3.9% to £13.21 an hour, and the rate for 18 to 20 year olds rises to £11.27.
🏪 Shops, cafés, salons and pubs in England
• From April 2027, premises with a rateable value up to £18,000 will pay no business rates at all, up from £12,000, and tapered relief will run up to £21,000. Around 70,000 more high street businesses could pay nothing.
• Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that don’t qualify will have their rates bills frozen from April 2027 to April 2029.
🏢 Limited companies and business owners
• From April 2027 the main first year allowance on equipment goes up from 40% to 50%, while the main writing down allowance falls from 14% to 12%.
• If you’re planning to sell your business, the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief is halved from £1 million to £500,000.
📅 Coming in 2029
• Payments on account will be replaced by smaller, more regular payments through the year, which should make January a lot less painful.
• VAT and PAYE will need to be paid by Direct Debit.
• VAT invoices will need to be sent in a set electronic format from 1 April 2029.
HMRC is also taking on 670 extra compliance officers, which is a very good reason to keep your records tidy!
Most of this doesn’t start until April 2027, which gives you the winter to get ready.
If you want to know what any of it means for your own figures, DM me the word BUDGET and we’ll have a chat.
Tracey ☺️