In short
- Income tax, National Insurance, VAT, dividend and corporation tax rates are unchanged.
- Business Asset Disposal Relief on a sale halves from £1m to £500,000.
- Writing down allowances fall from 14% to 12%; full expensing and the £1m Annual Investment Allowance stay.
- The EMI2 share option limit doubles to £120,000 from April 2027.
- The Budget gives households breathing space. It doesn't give your business more customers.
For most owner-managed businesses, the Autumn Budget 2026 changes little day to day: income tax, National Insurance, VAT and corporation tax rates are unchanged. The changes that matter are on selling a business, capital allowances, share options and property income.
The day after the Budget, DJH ran their Budget Unwrapped livestream for clients and business owners. Steve Greensill, a Director at DJH, shared the notes from his team's briefing with me. It's the clearest summary I've seen, so here are the parts that matter to owner-managed businesses, and my view on what to do about them.
For the full tax detail, go to DJH. This is a summary, not tax advice.
What didn't change
Income tax, National Insurance, VAT and dividend rates all stay where they are. The main corporation tax rates (19% small profits, 25% main rate) are unchanged. So are the main capital gains tax rates. There were no new inheritance tax measures and no social care levy.
DJH's verdict for most owners: "it's business as usual."
What changed for business owners
Selling your business. The Business Asset Disposal Relief limit halves, from £1m to £500,000. The rate stays at 18%. On DJH's numbers, that could mean £30,000 of relief lost on a sale.
Founders' Relief. A new 10% capital gains rate on up to £10m of lifetime gains, expected from 6 April 2027. It's aimed at high-growth businesses and the tests are strict: rapid turnover or headcount growth, or significant R&D spend. It's still under consultation. DJH's advice: it won't apply to most businesses, and nobody should delay a sale just to chase it.
Capital allowances. Full expensing stays, and so does the £1m Annual Investment Allowance. The first-year allowance rises from 40% to 50%. But writing down allowances drop from 14% to 12%, so some businesses will get tax relief on assets more slowly. DJH flag that this matters most for capital-intensive businesses, where timing hits cash flow.
Rewarding key people. From 6 April 2027 the new EMI2 share option scheme doubles the individual limit from £60,000 to £120,000, with options running for up to 15 years. Employees who qualify could hold up to £370,000 of EMI and EMI2 options combined.
Property and savings income. Tax on rental profits and savings income rises to 24%, 44% and 49% from April 2027. DJH's worked example shows why more landlords will look at holding property in a company.
Pensions and inheritance tax. From 6 April 2027, unused pension funds come into the inheritance tax net at 40%.
Further out. Rules on returning capital to shareholders and on demergers change from April 2028. If you're planning to separate a trading business from property before a sale, DJH suggest looking at it sooner rather than later.
What the Budget can't do for you
Here's my view, after 35+ years of running businesses.
No Budget has ever handed an owner more customers. This one gives households some breathing space on energy bills and the cost of living. It gives most businesses steady rates and slightly slower relief on equipment. What happens to your revenue next year is still down to you.
So look at what you control. Three things stand out.
1. Cash you've already paid for. If relief on equipment arrives more slowly, cash flow matters more. The cheapest cash in most businesses is the revenue they've already paid to attract: enquiries that never got a reply, quotes nobody chased, customers who were never asked back. Across our client work, 11% to 21% of old enquiries turn into sales once followed up properly.
2. Value you can show a buyer. If you plan to sell in the next few years, less relief means the value you build matters more. Buyers pay for revenue they can see and trust: a clear path from enquiry to sale, response times you can measure, reviews that keep coming in. A business that only works because the owner is firefighting is harder to sell.
3. A reason for good people to stay. EMI2 makes it easier to reward the people who drive growth. Pair it with systems that take the repetitive work off them, so their time goes on customers.
Talk to your accountant first
Tax decisions belong with your accountant. If any of the changes above affect you, speak to DJH or your own adviser before acting, particularly on a sale, a property restructure or share options. Some measures are still under consultation and may change.
Once the tax side is clear, the revenue side is where we help.
Want to know how much revenue your business is already losing before next year's figures land? Book your audit/demo and we'll show you where it's leaking and what to fix first. Or put a figure on it now with the Lost Revenue Calculator.
Figures from DJH's Budget Unwrapped briefing. For full details visit DJH. This article is a summary for information only and is not tax advice.
Try this this week
Pull every enquiry from the last 90 days. Count how many waited more than an hour for a reply and how many quotes never got a follow-up. Then put a figure on it with the Lost Revenue Calculator.
Work Out What You're Losing