# UK Autumn Budget 2026: How Small Businesses Should Prepare > Here's how VAT repayments from HMRC actually work in 2026, how long they take, and how to avoid the bank details fraud that increasingly targets them. Last updated: 2026-09-17 *Blog | by Josh Clarke | September 2026* # Autumn Budget 2026: What Small Business Owners Should Actually Prepare For ### Josh Clarke The Chancellor, John Healey, has confirmed the Autumn Budget for Wednesday 28 October 2026, which puts it a little under eight weeks away. Nothing in this article is confirmed policy, and some of it may not happen at all, but the point of preparing for a Budget isn't to guess the outcome correctly. It's to know your own numbers well enough that whatever is announced, you can react to it quickly rather than starting from scratch in November. ## Why is there so much pressure on this particular Budget? Rising gilt yields, the interest rate the government pays to borrow, have eaten into the Chancellor's fiscal headroom, with some estimates putting it as low as £13 billion, down from around £22.7 billion earlier in the year. That squeeze is the backdrop to almost everything being speculated about this Budget, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham has already said publicly that people may need to pay 'a little more' as the government balances spending pressure against the public finances. ## What's actually being speculated about, and how solid is it? Business rates reform keeps coming up, with discussion focused on aligning the system with how businesses actually trade today rather than a decades-old model built around physical retail footprints. Capital gains tax is another area under active discussion, covering both rates and exemptions, which matters directly if you're planning to sell a business, a property, or shares in the next year or two. Pension tax relief is being talked about again too, as it is before most Budgets, though the shape of any change remains genuinely unclear. None of these are confirmed, and it's worth treating Budget speculation the way you'd treat any market rumour: useful for knowing what to watch, not useful for making an irreversible decision today. What is confirmed is only the date and the general direction Burnham has signalled. Everything else in this section could land differently, or not at all. What should I actually do before 28 October, if nothing is confirmed yet? The most useful thing you can do right now has nothing to do with predicting the Budget correctly. It's making sure your own current numbers, profit, dividends, pension contributions, and any planned sale of an asset, are all somewhere you can look at quickly, so that when something is confirmed you're reacting to real figures rather than starting the analysis from a standing start on Budget day itself. 1.        If you're planning to sell a business, property or a meaningful shareholding in the next year, know your current capital gains tax position before the Budget, not after. 2.        If you're a director drawing a mix of salary, dividends and pension contributions, get a rough sense of how a change to any one of those would affect your take-home, so a Budget announcement is something you can react to same-day. 3.        If your business has premises and business rates are a meaningful cost, check what your current rateable value and liability actually is, since that's the baseline any reform would change from. How does this connect to what's already happening this year? This Budget isn't landing in isolation. Frozen income tax thresholds, Making Tax Digital's expansion for landlords and the self-employed, and rising Corporation Tax late-filing penalties are all already in motion, and an Autumn Budget under fiscal pressure is more likely to build on that direction of travel than to reverse it. If Making Tax Digital applies to you and you're still getting your record-keeping set up properly, our guide on HMRC's automatic sign-up process is worth a read before the Budget adds anything further to your plate. Related reading: [https://loveyouraccountants.com/knowledge/making-tax-digital-automatic-sign-up](https://loveyouraccountants.com/knowledge/making-tax-digital-automatic-sign-up) ## Frequently asked questions Is the Autumn Budget date definitely confirmed? Yes. Chancellor John Healey has confirmed the Autumn Budget will be delivered on Wednesday 28 October 2026. The measures contained in it are not confirmed and remain subject to change right up to the Budget speech itself. Should I make financial decisions now based on Budget speculation? Generally no, for anything irreversible. It's reasonable to prepare and to know your numbers, but making a permanent decision, such as selling an asset purely to beat a possible capital gains tax change, based on speculation that may not become policy carries its own risk. Where can I check what's actually been confirmed once the Budget happens? GOV.UK publishes the Budget documents and fact sheets directly on the day, and we'll cover what's actually confirmed and what it means for small business owners on our blog shortly afterwards. Need help? If you'd like to talk through how a possible Budget change could affect your business, or simply want your current numbers in good enough shape to react quickly on the day, the LYA team is happy to help. Email support.london@loveyouraccountants.com or call 01372 374143, or book a free consultation to get started. Book a free consultation: [https://loveyouraccountants.com/contact](https://loveyouraccountants.com/contact). Sources Autumn Budget 2026 - Confirmed Date, Possible Tax Rises and What a New Prime Minister Now Means: [https://alexander.co.uk/news/autumn-budget-2026/](https://alexander.co.uk/news/autumn-budget-2026/) UK Business News Today: 3 September 2026: [https://cpa.co.uk/uk-business-news-today-3-september-2026-economy-markets-insolvencies/](https://cpa.co.uk/uk-business-news-today-3-september-2026-economy-markets-insolvencies/) Autumn Budget 2026 – what can small business owners expect?: [https://smallbusiness.co.uk/autumn-budget-2026-what-can-small-business-owners-expect/](https://smallbusiness.co.uk/autumn-budget-2026-what-can-small-business-owners-expect/) Tags: corporation tax, directors, personal tax, small business, tax planning ![](https://loveyouraccountants.com/asset/2481/175-175-def/4a37688b-69ab-411b-810b-4fb6eba75354.jpg) **Author** ###### **Josh Clarke** Josh is our Chief Operating Officer, overseeing operations to ensure a smooth, responsive and high-quality service. With a practical, clear approach... [Read more](https://loveyouraccountants.com/author-josh-clarke) --- ### Related Blogs - [UK Interest Rate Rises 2026: What It Means for Business](https://loveyouraccountants.com/knowledge/uk-interest-rate-rises-business-2026) — Markets are now pricing in UK interest rate rises rather than cuts in 2026. Here's what that means for business loans, overdrafts and cashflow. - [Corporation Tax Late Filing Penalties Doubled in 2026](https://loveyouraccountants.com/knowledge/corporation-tax-late-filing-penalties-doubled) — Corporation Tax late filing penalties doubled from 1 April 2026. Here's exactly what a late CT600 now costs, and how the fines escalate. - [UK Autumn Budget 2026: How Small Businesses Should Prepare](https://loveyouraccountants.com/knowledge/autumn-budget-2026-small-business-preparation) — The Autumn Budget lands 28 October 2026. 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