Autumn Budget 2026: the impact on individuals and families
The 2026 Budget headlines may not have been showstopping, but looking into the detail is important, as announcements included: higher taxation on investment returns, tighter reliefs for many business owners, and a faster, more data-driven HMRC. We sit down straight after the Chancellor’s first Budget to translate the announcements into what they actually mean for private clients and families trying to plan with confidence.
We start with the planned changes to savings income and property income tax from April 2027, moving to 24%, 44% and 49%. We talk through why a four-point differential can be deceptively expensive for people with sizeable portfolios or personally held rental property, and the wider compliance burden on landlords. We also cover the decision to keep the £20,000 ISA allowance and why they are still one of the most reliable tools for long-term tax-efficient planning.
For entrepreneurs and investors, we unpack the reduction in Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) and why it creates a real timing issue ahead of April 2027. We then dig into the new Founders’ Relief, which promises 10% CGT on gains up to £10 million, but only for founders who meet strict shareholding, residence, trading and innovation conditions. We also touch on welcome technical fixes to EIS, VCT and SEIS that reduce the risk of losing relief because of minor mistakes.
We then move to pensions and inheritance tax and the changes coming in April 2027. Finally, we look at targeted international measures (including reverse hybrids like US LLCs and a proposed trust change), before zooming out to the bigger story: HMRC using more third-party data, automated risk triggers, and a new duty to correct past errors from April 2028, alongside Making Tax Digital and more frequent payment expectations.
For more on the Autumn Budget, visit our content hub.
