Introduction

The UK tax year 2026/27 (6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027) brings one of the most consequential packages of tax changes in recent memory. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment finally arrives for the self-employed and landlords with gross income above £50,000. Business Asset Disposal Relief rises from 14% to 18%. Business Relief and Agricultural Relief for Inheritance Tax are restructured, with the first £1 million of combined relief remaining at 100% but any excess restricted to 50%. Frozen personal tax thresholds continue into their seventh year, steadily pulling more income into higher bands. And the scheduled bringing of pensions into the IHT net from April 2027 casts a shadow over 2026/27 planning.

This article pulls together everything that is changing — or is scheduled to change — across the UK tax landscape in 2026. It covers income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, VAT, National Insurance, pensions, property taxes, and compliance reforms. It highlights what is confirmed in existing legislation, what was announced in the Autumn 2025 Budget (subject to my knowledge cutoff of May 2025 — I flag where I cannot verify), and what practitioners expect further down the track.

All figures are 2025/26 or 2026/27 as stated. Readers should always verify the current position on GOV.UK before relying on any specific number for a filing or planning decision.

Headline Changes in 2026/27

1. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment (MTD ITSA)

From 6 April 2026, self-employed individuals and landlords with gross annual income above £50,000 must:

  • Keep digital records of income and expenses.
  • Submit quarterly updates to HMRC.
  • File an annual end-of-period statement (replacing the Self-Assessment return).

MTD ITSA has been in planning for almost a decade and its implementation has slipped multiple times. The April 2026 start date was confirmed in 2023 and has held so far. Thresholds phase in further:

  • April 2027: £30,000+ gross income.
  • April 2028 (proposed): £20,000+.

Employees, pensioners, and those with only dividend or savings income are not yet in scope.

2. Business Asset Disposal Relief Rate Rises to 18%

BADR, the relief that reduces CGT on qualifying business disposals up to a £1 million lifetime limit, rises from 14% (2025/26) to 18% from 6 April 2026. This is the final step of a three-step rise announced in the October 2024 Budget:

  • Up to 29 October 2024: 10%.
  • 30 October 2024 – 5 April 2025: 10%.
  • 6 April 2025 – 5 April 2026: 14%.
  • From 6 April 2026: 18%.

Investors’ Relief, which provides the same rates for passive investors in unlisted trading companies, follows the same trajectory. Business sales completed before April 2026 benefit from the 14% rate; from 6 April 2026, the rate aligns with the basic-rate CGT rate.

3. Business Relief and Agricultural Relief Reform

Perhaps the most consequential change. From 6 April 2026, the combined 100% Business Relief and Agricultural Relief for IHT is capped at £1 million per individual. Amounts above this cap qualify for only 50% relief — effectively a 20% IHT rate on the excess.

Who is affected:

  • Family farms worth more than £1 million.
  • Unquoted trading businesses worth more than £1 million.
  • AIM share portfolios worth more than £1 million.
  • Controlling stakes in quoted trading companies (already only 50% relief, unchanged).

Who is not affected:

  • Anyone with combined qualifying assets under £1 million.
  • Spouses inheriting from each other (still covered by spousal exemption).

The £1 million threshold applies per person, not per couple — but the exemption does transfer to a surviving spouse who hasn’t used theirs, effectively giving couples £2 million of combined 100% relief.

This change has triggered significant activity among family farm and private company owners in 2025. Lifetime transfers (subject to the 7-year PET rule), life insurance planning, company restructuring, and in some cases business sales have been brought forward specifically because of the April 2026 deadline.

4. Frozen Personal Tax Thresholds Continue

Main personal tax thresholds remain frozen into 2026/27:

  • Personal Allowance: £12,570.
  • Higher-rate threshold (rUK): £50,270.
  • Additional-rate threshold: £125,140.
  • NI Primary Threshold: £12,570.
  • NI Upper Earnings Limit: £50,270.

The freeze was originally scheduled to 2028 but has been extended to 2030 for IHT (NRB £325,000, RNRB £175,000). The fiscal drag effect — more people pulled into higher bands as wages rise — continues through 2026/27.

5. Pensions Into IHT Net (Scheduled for April 2027)

Although the change takes effect in April 2027 — during 2027/28, not 2026/27 — it casts a shadow over 2026 planning. From April 2027, most unused defined contribution pension funds will be brought within the IHT regime. Implementation details are being consulted on. Spouses remain fully protected by the spousal exemption.

The announced reform has caused many pension holders to reconsider the long-standing advice to “draw ISAs first, pensions last.” For estates where non-spouse beneficiaries will inherit, that logic has reversed.

6. CGT on Carried Interest

From April 2026, the rate on carried interest (the performance fee paid to private equity and hedge fund managers) rises, with a 72.5% multiplier applied to the gain being taxed as income, creating an effective top rate of 32.625% for carried interest at higher personal tax rates. The precise implementation depends on final legislation.

This affects a narrow but high-profile slice of the UK tax base.

Other Confirmed Changes

Employer National Insurance

Already implemented from April 2025:

  • Secondary Threshold reduced to £5,000.
  • Rate increased to 15%.
  • Employment Allowance increased to £10,500.

These continue into 2026/27 unchanged.

Furnished Holiday Lets Regime End

Already implemented from April 2025. FHL properties now treated as standard residential lets. 2026/27 is the first full tax year entirely under the new regime.

Multiple Dwellings Relief (SDLT)

Abolished from 1 June 2024. Buyers in 2026/27 cannot claim MDR on bulk residential acquisitions.

Cash Basis Default for Self-Employed

Since April 2024, cash basis has been the default for self-employed with turnover under £300,000 (up from £150,000). Accruals basis remains an option.

Research and Development Relief Reform

Merged scheme for SME and large-company R&D from April 2024. Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS) for loss-making R&D-intensive SMEs continues. Ongoing enforcement tightening expected.

State Pension

Triple lock continues (assuming policy unchanged), so State Pension typically rises at around 4% or more each year. The full new State Pension may exceed the Personal Allowance in 2026/27, creating tax for pensioners whose only income is State Pension — if combined with any other taxable income.

Changes That May Apply From the Autumn 2025 Budget

The Autumn 2025 Budget, typically in late October or November 2025, may introduce further changes for the 2026/27 tax year. My reliable knowledge runs to May 2025, so I cannot verify what the Autumn 2025 Budget has done. Areas of common speculation and practitioner expectation included:

  • Further adjustments to the dividend allowance.
  • Possible tightening or reform of the ISA wrapper.
  • Potential adjustments to pension tax relief mechanics.
  • Possible changes to employer NI.
  • Further tightening of offshore tax rules.
  • Revisions to R&D or Patent Box.
  • VAT threshold review.

Always verify the current position on GOV.UK. Where this article uses 2025/26 figures as a proxy for 2026/27, readers should confirm no change has been announced.

Reforms Still Under Consultation

Several reforms are in formal consultation and may be implemented in 2026/27 or 2027/28:

Pension Tax Relief Simplification

Recurring proposals to move from the current relief-at-source / net-pay hybrid to a single flat rate. Would have significant redistributive effects — benefiting basic-rate taxpayers if the flat rate were set at 25% or 30%, and hurting higher-rate taxpayers.

Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax

MTD for CT has been consulted on but not implemented. Would bring all companies into the MTD digital record-keeping regime, aligning with MTD for VAT and MTD for ITSA.

Council Tax Reform

Council tax is based on 1991 property valuations in England (different in Wales and Scotland). Various proposals for revaluation or full replacement with a land value tax or proportional property tax have been floated. No near-term movement expected, but a perennial topic.

Wealth Tax

Periodic proposals for a UK wealth tax on net assets above various thresholds. Rejected by successive governments but discussed each time fiscal pressures rise.

Gambling Reform

Review of remote gaming duty and online gambling taxation, with potential revenue-raising reforms.

Digital Services Tax

The UK’s Digital Services Tax is scheduled to be replaced by the OECD Pillar One framework when fully implemented internationally — potentially in 2026 or 2027.

OECD Pillar Two

15% global minimum tax on large multinational groups. Already in effect for 2025/26 for large groups. Extensions and refinements likely.

What to Do Before April 2026

For various taxpayer groups, specific planning actions make sense before the April 2026 deadline:

Business Owners Considering Sale

If a sale is plausible within the next 12 months, bringing it forward to complete before 6 April 2026 captures the 14% BADR rate instead of 18%. Due diligence: avoid rushing a sale at the expense of valuation; a 10% valuation hit usually dwarfs the 4% tax saving.

Farmers and Family Business Owners

Review succession planning in light of the £1 million BR/AR cap. Options include:

  • Lifetime gifts (subject to 7-year PET rule).
  • Life insurance in trust to cover expected IHT.
  • Company restructuring to move ownership within the family.
  • Investigating whether fragmentation between spouses can double the £1 million cap.

Each option has specific trade-offs; specialist advice is essential.

Landlords and Sole Traders

Prepare for MTD ITSA:

  • Choose MTD-compliant software.
  • Set up clean separate business banking.
  • Establish a quarterly digital record-keeping rhythm in 2025/26 as rehearsal.
  • Train yourself or engage a bookkeeper.

Investors With Large AIM Holdings

Evaluate whether the AIM portfolio will breach the £1 million combined BR cap. If so, consider splitting between spouses, moving to non-AIM assets, or accepting the 50% relief above the cap.

High Earners With Significant Pensions

Model the April 2027 pension-IHT reform impact on estate plans. Consider beneficiary nominations, drawdown strategy, and the balance between pension and ISA savings going forward.

Couples and Spouses

Review inter-spousal planning to ensure both £1 million BR caps are available, both NRBs and RNRBs are optimised, and both annual allowances (ISA, pension, CGT AEA, IHT annual exemption) are used.

Case Studies

Case Study 1: Family Farm

The Simpsons own a 400-acre Wiltshire farm valued at £4 million (land) plus a £600,000 farmhouse. Their IHT position:

  • Pre-April 2026: full AR/BR, IHT zero.
  • Post-April 2026: first £1 million each at 100% relief (£2 million for the couple); remainder at 50% relief. Taxable value: £2.6 million × 50% = £1.3 million at 40% = £520,000.

They consider: lifetime gifts to their son (the farm manager), life insurance, company restructuring with shares gifted over time. No single answer; planning requires a specialist rural IHT review.

Case Study 2: Owner-Manager Exiting

Priya, 58, plans to sell her PR agency. The business is valued at £3 million. She qualifies for BADR on the first £1 million of gain.

  • Complete by 5 April 2026: £140,000 at 14% BADR + £500,000 (assuming £1.5m total gain and £500k over BADR) at 24% = £260,000.
  • Complete after 6 April 2026: £180,000 at 18% + £500k at 24% = £300,000.

The £40,000 saving from completing before April 2026 is material but shouldn’t compromise price or terms. Priya plans for a February 2026 completion.

Case Study 3: Landlord With £60,000 Gross Rents

Michael has four buy-to-lets generating £60,000 of gross rent. From April 2026 he enters MTD ITSA. He:

  • Chooses cloud accounting software in autumn 2025.
  • Sets up a dedicated bank account.
  • Practices quarterly bookkeeping in 2025/26 ahead of formal MTD.
  • Engages a bookkeeper to smooth the transition.
  • Makes sure his first MTD quarter (April–July 2026) is clean.

His cost of compliance rises by perhaps £1,500 a year; his stress drops substantially because records are always current.

Case Study 4: Retiree With AIM Portfolio

Eleanor, 73, has a £1.2 million AIM share portfolio specifically held for IHT mitigation. Post-April 2026:

  • First £1 million retains 100% BR.
  • £200,000 qualifies for 50% BR — effective IHT of 20% = £40,000 of extra liability.

She considers: splitting the portfolio so the excess falls within her husband’s £1 million cap, gradually migrating some holdings into ISA wrappers (which provide CGT shelter but not BR), or accepting the adjusted tax position. Specific planning with an IHT adviser.

Looking Further Ahead

Beyond 2026/27, the announced timetable includes:

  • April 2027: MTD ITSA at £30,000 threshold; pensions brought into IHT net.
  • April 2028: State Pension age rises to 67; pension access age rises to 57; MTD ITSA at £20,000 threshold (proposed).
  • April 2030: IHT nil-rate band and RNRB thresholds unfreeze (current policy).
  • Undated: Council tax reform, wealth tax debate, further OECD international tax coordination.

Taxpayers should plan in scenarios — what if thresholds unfreeze, what if they don’t, what if pension reforms accelerate, what if they slip.

Conclusion

2026/27 is a year of tightening, not loosening. Business Asset Disposal Relief rises. IHT Business Relief and Agricultural Relief are capped. MTD ITSA arrives for self-employed and landlords above £50,000. Pensions are scheduled to enter the IHT net the following year. Thresholds stay frozen, pulling more income and estates into tax. The direction is consistent: narrower reliefs, broader base, more digital compliance.

For taxpayers, the response is equally consistent: review your position annually, plan with specialist advice for anything non-routine, use existing reliefs while you have them, keep good records, and adapt as the rules change. The taxpayers who stay engaged with the evolving system — even by half an hour of attention a quarter — typically find themselves in better shape than those who don’t. 2026 will reward preparation more than most years.

Detailed Look: MTD ITSA Practical Rollout

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment is the largest compliance change in decades, and its impact on affected taxpayers deserves more depth than the overview above.

Who Must Comply From April 2026

Self-employed individuals and landlords whose gross income — not profit — exceeds £50,000 across the 2024/25 tax year. This is assessed by HMRC based on your Self-Assessment return and communicated by letter in late 2025 or early 2026.

“Gross income” means total sales or rents, not profit after expenses. So a landlord with £55,000 of rental income and £45,000 of expenses (£10,000 profit) is within MTD ITSA. The threshold is about turnover, not taxable profit.

What You Must Do

Quarterly updates: every three months, submit a summary of income and expenses to HMRC via MTD-compliant software. Deadlines:

  • Quarter 1 (6 April – 5 July): submit by 5 August.
  • Quarter 2 (6 July – 5 October): submit by 5 November.
  • Quarter 3 (6 October – 5 January): submit by 5 February.
  • Quarter 4 (6 January – 5 April): submit by 5 May.

Plus an annual end-of-period statement (EoPS) by 31 January following the tax year, similar to the current Self-Assessment return.

Software Options

HMRC maintains a list of compatible software. Major players:

  • Xero: comprehensive cloud accounting, MTD ready.
  • QuickBooks: similar.
  • FreeAgent: popular with small businesses and freelancers; free for some bank customers.
  • Sage Business Cloud: long-established, comprehensive.
  • Hammock: designed specifically for landlords.
  • FreshBooks: used by freelancers.
  • Budget options: some free or near-free apps approved for simpler users.

Choosing the right software depends on business complexity, existing systems, and accountant preferences.

Bridging Software

Spreadsheet users can continue using Excel with “bridging software” that formally connects the spreadsheet to HMRC. Not as seamless as native cloud accounting but can work for businesses that prefer spreadsheets.

Cost of Compliance

Typical costs for a small business or landlord:

  • Software subscription: £10–£50 a month.
  • Bookkeeper support (if used): £100–£500 a month.
  • Accountant EoPS preparation: £300–£800 a year.

For a landlord with just over £50,000 gross rent, MTD compliance may add £1,000–£2,000 a year to compliance costs compared to the current Self-Assessment model.

Penalties Under MTD

A new points-based penalty regime applies to MTD ITSA submissions, similar to VAT MTD. Missed quarterly submissions accumulate points, with £200 fixed penalties triggered once the threshold is reached.

Detailed Look: The £1 Million BR/AR Cap

The IHT Business Relief and Agricultural Relief reform is the single most consequential IHT change in a generation. Its detailed mechanics matter:

What Qualifies for the Cap

  • Interests in unincorporated businesses.
  • Shares in unlisted trading companies.
  • AIM shares of trading companies held for 2+ years.
  • Agricultural land in active use, owned for 2+ years (or 7 if let).
  • Farmhouses and cottages in agricultural use.
  • Plant and machinery used by a controlled company (50% relief).

How the Cap Works

Each individual gets a £1 million allowance of qualifying assets at 100% relief. Amounts above this allowance qualify for only 50% relief. So a £2 million qualifying holding produces:

  • First £1 million: 100% relief = fully exempt from IHT.
  • Second £1 million: 50% relief = £500,000 subject to IHT at 40% = £200,000 of IHT.

Effective IHT rate on the excess: 20% (= 50% × 40%).

Transferability

The unused £1 million BR/AR allowance transfers to a surviving spouse, allowing couples to shelter £2 million combined at 100% relief.

Planning Responses

Common planning options being considered:

  • Lifetime gifts: use the 7-year PET rule to move assets out of the estate, subject to surviving 7 years.
  • Spouse equalisation: ensure both spouses own qualifying assets up to the £1 million cap.
  • Life insurance: cover expected IHT with policies in trust.
  • Company restructuring: move ownership between generations gradually.
  • Partial sale or demerger: bring value below the cap for one individual.
  • Employee Ownership Trust: sell the business to employees, creating liquidity and removing the valuation from the estate.

Each option has trade-offs, and the right answer depends on family circumstances, business commercial needs, and the specific asset mix. Professional IHT advice is essential for any significant qualifying portfolio above £1 million.

Detailed Look: Pensions Into IHT (April 2027)

Even though 2026/27 is the last tax year before this change, planning around it in 2026/27 is essential because the impact is immediate from April 2027.

What Changes

Unused defined contribution pension funds passing to non-spouse beneficiaries on the pension holder’s death will be added to the estate for IHT purposes. The spousal exemption continues to apply for transfers to spouses or civil partners.

Currently, beneficiaries of DC pensions also pay income tax on withdrawals if the holder died at 75 or older. That tax treatment continues. IHT is layered on top.

Example

John, 70, has a £500,000 SIPP. He dies in 2028, leaving the SIPP to his adult daughter.

  • Pre-April 2027: SIPP outside the estate; daughter withdraws at her marginal income tax rate.
  • Post-April 2027: SIPP added to the estate. If the estate is above the nil-rate bands, £200,000 IHT on the SIPP. Daughter also pays income tax on withdrawals (if John died after 75).

For large pensions passing to non-spouses, the combined effect can be punitive.

Planning Options

  • Draw pensions earlier: convert pension into cash, use for living expenses, gift to family.
  • Crystallise pension into a trust: complex and only works in some circumstances.
  • Take large tax-free cash: up to £268,275 tax-free, deployed into gifting or IHT-planning assets.
  • Buy an annuity: annuity death benefits have different rules.
  • Insurance: whole-of-life policies in trust to cover the expected IHT.

The “pension last, ISA first” drawdown advice that dominated post-2015 needs reversing for non-spouse inheritance scenarios.

Ongoing Consultation

HMRC is consulting on implementation details including:

  • How pension providers and executors coordinate.
  • Reporting mechanisms.
  • Treatment of special pension types.
  • Interaction with the £1 million BR/AR cap (for pensions holding shares).

Final legislation expected through 2025/26 and 2026/27.

Looking Beyond the Budget

Several broader trends are shaping 2026 and beyond:

Digital Compliance

MTD, RTI, iXBRL, CRS, and platform reporting collectively represent a shift to real-time digital tax compliance. HMRC increasingly receives data before the taxpayer submits a return. This narrows the margin for error and undeclared income.

International Coordination

OECD Pillars One and Two, automatic exchange of information, and global minimum tax rules are progressively aligning international tax. UK rules continue to integrate with these frameworks.

Reform of Reliefs

Successive Budgets have narrowed reliefs. Dividend allowance, CGT AEA, Multiple Dwellings Relief, FHL, remittance basis — all cut or abolished in recent years. The direction is unlikely to reverse.

Base Broadening

The overall UK tax base is widening through threshold freezes, relief narrowing, and coverage extension (e.g. pensions into IHT). The Treasury has relied on these as preferred revenue-raising tools over headline rate rises.

Political Questions

A political shift in future elections could accelerate or reverse trends. Wealth taxes, council tax revaluation, and pension relief simplification are perennial candidates for reform. None is imminent, but any could move with political change.

Practical Planning Calendar for 2026

Early 2026 (January – March):

  • Review tax position for 2025/26, plan any last-minute actions.
  • If business sale under consideration, complete before 5 April 2026 for 14% BADR.
  • Assess family IHT exposure ahead of April 2026 BR/AR reform.
  • Confirm MTD readiness if in scope.

April 2026:

  • New tax year begins.
  • BADR moves to 18%.
  • BR/AR £1 million cap takes effect.
  • MTD ITSA begins for £50,000+ self-employed and landlords.

Q1 2026/27 (April – July):

  • First MTD ITSA quarter.
  • Early filing of 2025/26 Self-Assessment return.
  • Review pension contribution strategy for year.

Q2 (July – October):

  • Second MTD ITSA quarter.
  • Mid-year tax review.
  • Consider whether RSU vests or bonuses will move income across thresholds.

Q3 (October – January):

  • Autumn 2026 Budget (likely October/November).
  • Third MTD ITSA quarter.
  • Adjust planning for any new changes announced.

Q4 (January – April):

  • Fourth MTD ITSA quarter.
  • Self-Assessment filing and balancing payment for 2025/26 (31 January).
  • Year-end planning for ISAs, pensions, CGT, IHT exemptions.

A Final Word

UK tax is going through a decade of consolidation and compliance tightening rather than simplification or rate reform. The taxpayers who do best are those who engage with the system, use the reliefs that remain, maintain good digital records, plan annually, and seek specialist advice for complex matters. 2026 will reward these disciplines; 2027 likely will too.

The single highest-value takeaway from this article: don’t treat 2026 as normal. Three things are changing simultaneously — MTD for mid-sized self-employed/landlords, BADR rate rise, and IHT Business/Agricultural Relief reform — with a fourth (pension IHT) looming in 2027. Any household or business affected by two or more of these needs an explicit planning conversation before April 2026, not an ad hoc reaction afterwards.

Communication With Professional Advisers

With so many changes landing simultaneously, the role of professional advisers has never mattered more. If you have an accountant, a solicitor, and a financial adviser, they should ideally be talking to each other about your position — not operating in silos. Ask your accountant whether they are planning to review your 2026/27 position proactively; ask your solicitor whether your will still makes sense under the BR/AR reform; ask your financial adviser how the April 2027 pension-IHT change affects your drawdown strategy.

Many households have one adviser they rely on but no coordination between advisers. For anything non-trivial — farms, private companies, significant pensions, large estates — a short joint meeting between advisers can transform the quality of planning.

Compliance Costs as a Business Reality

One under-discussed aspect of the MTD ITSA rollout is its cost. For affected taxpayers, compliance costs will rise meaningfully — software subscriptions, more frequent bookkeeper engagement, greater adviser time. Estimates vary but most affected taxpayers face £500–£2,000 a year of new compliance cost.

This is a real economic hit, and one that landlord and self-employed representative bodies have pointed to as a reason for threshold adjustment or phased implementation. HMRC has argued that improved record-keeping will benefit taxpayers too, through better financial management and fewer errors. Both have truth to them; the net effect varies by individual circumstance.

Tax Is One Leg of the Wider Economic Picture

Finally, it’s worth remembering that tax is only one part of the economic picture for households and businesses. Interest rates, inflation, housing costs, wage growth, and business conditions all matter more in most years than tax changes. A 2% mortgage rate change has a bigger impact on a typical household than almost any announced tax reform. Tax planning matters, but it sits alongside wider economic planning, not above it.

The taxpayers who best manage 2026 and beyond will be those who integrate tax into their financial planning as one element among several — not the dominant concern, but one that deserves consistent attention annually.

A Scenario-Based View

Because politics and policy can shift quickly, many sensible families and businesses are thinking in scenarios rather than assuming a single trajectory.

Scenario A: Current Policy Continues. Thresholds remain frozen through 2028, IHT freezes through 2030, BADR stays at 18%, pension IHT goes live in April 2027. Under this scenario, the planning moves outlined in this article are directly relevant.

Scenario B: Policy Tightens Further. A future government introduces a wealth tax, unfreezes thresholds but raises rates, abolishes some reliefs. Under this scenario, current use of existing reliefs becomes even more valuable — the reliefs that exist today may not in 5 years.

Scenario C: Reform and Simplification. A future government restructures the entire tax system — combining income tax and NI, simplifying reliefs, introducing a land value tax. Under this scenario, much of today’s detailed knowledge becomes obsolete; the principle of ongoing engagement nevertheless persists.

No one can predict which scenario will unfold. The practical response is the same across all three: use current reliefs fully, keep records, stay informed, plan annually. Taxpayers who do this consistently tend to outperform those who react to each change in isolation — because the compounding benefit of good habits over decades dwarfs the gain from optimising for any specific rule.

Closing Words

2026/27 is going to be a busy year for UK tax professionals and a meaningful one for many of their clients. Between MTD ITSA, BADR, IHT reform, and the lead-up to pension-IHT, a substantial slice of the UK’s farms, family businesses, landlords, and affluent households face material changes. Even those who aren’t directly affected will see the background tax climate tighten through continued threshold freezes.

The message is simple: pay attention to your own tax position at least annually, don’t assume the rules are what they were five years ago, engage specialists for anything significant, and plan before April rather than reacting after. 2026/27 will reward those who treat tax as an active, ongoing part of their financial lives and quietly penalise those who treat it as an annual administrative chore to be got through in January each year with as little attention as possible, hoping the rules don’t change too much from one year to the next — a hope that has not been borne out by UK tax policy for quite some time and shows no obvious signs of being borne out in the near future either.