UK Autumn Budget 2026: What Owner-Managed Businesses Should (and Shouldn't) Do Before 28 October

Pre-Budget briefing from Gerry Surtees, Tax Partner, Oldfield Advisory

With the next Budget set for Wednesday 28 October 2026, there is an abundance of speculation around capital gains tax, pensions, inheritance tax, wealth taxes and other potential revenue-raising measures. As always, it is difficult to know what to listen to and what to filter.

Gerry Surtees, Tax Partner at Oldfield Advisory, sets out what owner-managed businesses need to be watching, and what they should avoid doing on the strength of speculation alone.

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Gerry's position is direct: our overriding message ahead of this Budget is to avoid hasty actions that might cause problems down the line. Decisions taken now under pressure can be difficult, and in some cases impossible, to reverse.

Why the pre-Budget period matters this time

Gerry notes that, “unlike some recent Budgets, there is very little in the way of hints as to what might change.” When the direction of travel is clearer, there is a stronger case for pre-emptive action. When it is not, the priority shifts to judgement and discipline rather than speed.

For an owner-managed business, a structural decision rarely touches tax alone. Share ownership, personal liquidity, family arrangements, governance and succession are usually all affected by the same decision. A move that looks efficient on a tax basis can look very different once control, timing and business readiness are factored in.

5 tax changes business owners should watch in the October 2026 Budget

Capital gains tax.

CGT remains, in Gerry’s words, “always on the cards,” and is particularly relevant to owners considering a sale, family transfer or share reorganisation. He notes there is “probably limited room for them to push it up too much because there comes a point where it is self-defeating.” Where a transaction is already in motion, clarity on structure and timing is more valuable now than usual.

Pensions.

Three specific pressure points: the 25% tax-free lump sum, the level of income tax relief available on contributions, and the possible reintroduction of National Insurance on pension contributions. Pensions are part of the broad spectrum of options for extracting profits from your company, alongside remuneration and personal planning; any of these changes has knock-on effects.

Inheritance tax and gifting.

Potential changes to the seven-year rule, either by extending this (to, say, 10 years) or by applying an immediate tax charge to any lifetime gifts, affect how ownership and value are passed across generations. In an owner-managed business, a gift is rarely a simple transfer, often having wider impacts on control, ownership and succession expectations.

Wealth and residence-related measures.

The briefing flags the possibility of a wealth tax, alongside measures aimed at discouraging capital from leaving the UK, including a personal exit charge modelled on the existing regime for companies relocating offshore. These remain speculative. Owners with international considerations, significant personal assets, or mobility plans in view should scenario-test now rather than after the Budget.

Property exposure.

Gerry flags the possibility that the threshold for the new high-value residential council tax surcharge could be reduced from £2 million to around £1.5 million. He is clear that this “is probably not going to be a major revenue raiser for the government,” but for the households affected, the impact would still be material.

When does it make sense to act before the Budget?

Gerry draws a clear line between decisions already underway for sound commercial or personal reasons, and decisions manufactured by speculation. Where an owner is already planning to sell or pass down shares, gift cash or property, crystallise a pension lump sum, or make pension contributions, his advice is that “if you are already planning a move for perhaps non-tax reasons,” bringing the timing forward should be considered.

When should you wait before taking action?

The same logic runs the other way. Oldfield’s general view is that tax-motivated action taken purely in anticipation of the Budget, without the wider context resolved, is not advisable. That context could include:

• Shareholder alignment
• Succession Readiness
• Estate planning
• Family implications
• Access to cash
• The practical difficulty of unwinding a poorly timed decision

Holding a decision back is not the same as failing to act; you are just moving with better information and fewer unintended consequences.

A simple framework for Pre-Budget planning decisions

A helpful lens through which to view any possible pre-Budget moves is to put them into three categories:

1. Proposals that are already in advanced stages of discussion and implementation.
2. Changes that can be made quickly and easily, without having broad implications on ownership, succession or family.
3. Changes that require careful consideration of the wider (non-tax) consequences, before implementation.

Items falling under (1) and (2) are candidates for acceleration. Decisions under (3) should be carefully reviewed before action is taken, and the right decision, with limited time available ahead of the Budget, may be to defer the decision rather than risking sub-optimal outcomes.

Key takeaways for Owner-Managers ahead of Budget 2026

Ownership, tax and succession decisions in an owner-managed business are rarely separable; a change in one area typically affects the others. Before the Budget, the priority is to distinguish decisions that were already right for the business from those prompted only by uncertainty, and to treat each accordingly.

If the Budget could affect your plans around share ownership, succession, pensions or value extraction, now is the time to review those options with an adviser.

Speak to an Oldfield adviser to discuss the options for your specific circumstances.

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Gerry Surtees is Tax Partner at Oldfield Advisory, dual-tax qualified and has been advising owner-managers on complex tax matters for over 13 years.

Oldfield Advisory is a 50-employee firm based in Coventry and Leeds, with expertise in tax, business and accounting for owner-managed businesses with revenue of over £1 million.