Autumn Budget 2026: What Tax Changes Could Be Coming?

Posted: September 10, 2026

The Autumn Budget will take place on 28 October 2026, and speculation is already building over what tax changes the Chancellor might announce.

The backdrop is a difficult one. Higher government borrowing costs and spending pressures mean that the Chancellor has relatively limited room for manoeuvre. At the same time, the Government has committed not to increase the main rates of Income Tax, VAT and employee National Insurance, while the main Corporation Tax rate is expected to remain capped at 25%.

If significant additional revenue is required, the Chancellor may therefore have to look elsewhere.

So, which taxes could be in the firing line?

Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is once again attracting attention.

There have been calls for CGT rates to be brought closer to Income Tax rates. At present, most taxable capital gains are charged at considerably lower rates than employment or trading income, particularly for higher and additional rate taxpayers.

Whether the Government would go as far as aligning the two remains highly uncertain. Previous increases in CGT rates have demonstrated one of the problems with raising the tax too far: taxpayers can often defer disposals, which means a higher tax rate does not necessarily produce higher tax receipts.

Nevertheless, anyone already contemplating a significant disposal – for example, the sale of a business, shares or an investment property – should be aware that CGT could feature in the Budget. Our capital gains tax advice covers how disposals are taxed under the current rules.

This does not necessarily mean accelerating a transaction simply because tax rates might change. Commercial considerations should remain paramount, but where a transaction is already planned it may be worth considering whether its timing matters.

Could Business Asset Disposal Relief change again?

Business owners have already experienced significant changes to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR).

The BADR rate increased from 10% to 14% from 6 April 2025 and increased again to 18% from 6 April 2026.

With the Government looking for additional revenue, further changes to the taxation of business disposals cannot be ruled out, although there has been no announcement that BADR will be changed again.

For shareholders and business owners considering a sale over the next few years, this is another reason why tax planning should begin well before heads of terms are signed – see Preparing Your Business for Sale – Three Years Before You Sell.

Inheritance Tax and taxing wealth

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is another area attracting considerable attention.

Major changes are already taking place. In particular, from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be brought within an individual’s estate for IHT purposes. We look at this in more detail in Will Your Pension Be Subject to Inheritance Tax from 2027?

That change alone means many families should reconsider existing estate planning. Historically, pensions have often been preserved while other assets were spent because pension funds could generally be passed outside the estate for IHT purposes. For many people, that strategy will no longer produce the same result from April 2027.

There is now wider speculation about whether the Government could make further changes to the taxation of inherited wealth.

Suggestions being discussed include more fundamental reform of IHT and alternative ways of funding social care. At this stage these remain proposals and speculation rather than announced Government policy.

However, the direction of travel makes one point increasingly clear: IHT planning should not be left until death or serious ill health is imminent.

Lifetime gifting, trusts, business succession planning, pension strategy and the use of available exemptions may all need to be considered as part of a wider inheritance tax planning exercise.

Could there be a wealth tax?

The possibility of some form of wealth tax continues to receive publicity, particularly as the Government looks for ways to raise revenue without increasing the headline rates of Income Tax, VAT or National Insurance.

A conventional annual wealth tax would be complicated to introduce. It would require rules governing which assets were included, how privately owned businesses and property should be valued, how liabilities should be treated and how taxpayers with valuable but illiquid assets would fund the tax.

For these reasons, targeted changes to existing taxes may prove more practical than an entirely new wealth tax.

Nevertheless, taxpayers with substantial property, investment or business wealth should watch the Budget carefully.

Property could also be targeted

Property taxation is another obvious area for reform.

There has been speculation about changes to the way higher-value residential properties are taxed and about longer-term reform of Council Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax.

Again, there is an important distinction between political discussion and actual Government policy. Major changes should not be assumed before the Chancellor stands up on 28 October.

However, property owners – particularly those with valuable residential property, investment portfolios or planned property transactions – should be alert to announcements in this area.

Don’t forget the tax increases we already know about

While attention inevitably focuses on what might be announced in October, several significant tax changes have already been announced or legislated.

These include:

the increase in dividend ordinary and upper rates by two percentage points from April 2026;
the BADR rate increase to 18% from April 2026;
most unused pension funds becoming subject to IHT from April 2027;
separate Income Tax rates for property income from April 2027, at 22%, 42% and 47%; and
increases of two percentage points in the Income Tax rates applying to savings income from April 2027.

Many of these were confirmed in last year’s Budget – see Autumn Budget 2025: Key changes unveiled in tax grab for the detail.

For many taxpayers these known changes will be just as important as anything announced in the forthcoming Budget.

Should you take action before the Budget?

Pre-Budget speculation always creates a temptation to act quickly.

In most cases, we would advise against making major financial decisions purely because a tax change has been rumoured.

There is, however, a difference between creating a transaction solely to beat a possible tax change and reviewing the timing of something you already intend to do.

If you are already considering selling a business or investment, making substantial gifts, restructuring a family company, extracting funds from a company, undertaking estate planning or making significant pension decisions, it may be sensible to review your position before 28 October.

That gives you the opportunity to understand the current tax treatment and decide whether there is any reason to act before the Budget – rather than trying to make important decisions after an announcement has been made.

How RJP can help

The Autumn Budget takes place on 28 October 2026 and we will provide a summary of the important tax announcements once the detail is available.

In the meantime, if you already have a significant transaction or tax planning exercise under consideration, please contact us. We can review the current position and identify whether the forthcoming Budget creates any particular timing issues.

As always, the important point is not to make decisions based on newspaper headlines, but equally not to leave existing plans until the last minute when a change in tax legislation could affect the options available.