Ryan Experts Weigh in on Autumn Budget

All eyes were on the new Chancellor, John Healey, during the Autumn Budget, and on how he would pay for his plans. He called it a Budget for the working people of Britain and said he had kept Labour’s manifesto promise not to raise tax on working people. The Chancellor ruled out broad-based tax rises, saying families and businesses need breathing space. 

The money to fund his plans comes from narrower measures, like the higher bank surcharge and the two-percentage point rise in tax rates on savings and property income. For businesses, the main corporation tax rates are untouched, and the Advance Tax Certainty Service threshold drops to £300 million. Our experts also welcome the end of the R&D Claim Notification Form and the more generous EMI scheme. Against that, HMRC gets tougher compliance powers, the VAT reverse charge on cross-border services is restricted, and the business rates supplement runs for two more years. What our experts want from here is clear guidance and enough time to prepare. Here are some key takeaways from our experts.   

Corporate Tax 

The Chancellor reduced the ATCS from £1 billion to £300 million—giving more certainty for more transactions. Jenny Batchelor, Principal, UK Corporate Tax, said: 

“For corporates, this was a Budget without a nasty surprise. The main corporation tax rate stays at 25% and the small profits rate at 19%, including for the financial year beginning April 2028. Cutting the Advance Tax Certainty Service threshold from £1 billion to £300 million is the standout. It gives far more large investment projects and transactions clarity upfront, which is what helps businesses commit to spending. 

 “The headline rate is only part of the picture, though. The writing-down allowance falls to 12%, the foreign branch exemption becomes mandatory, Pillar Two is amended again, and reform of company distributions is coming. After more than 140 tax policy changes affecting businesses in the past year costing businesses £3.3 billion, what companies need now is clear guidance and proper lead time to implement it. The consultations on simplification and administration are a chance to get that right.” 

Tax Administration  

The Chancellor announced additional investment in HMRC’s compliance workforce and debt collection capabilities, alongside new powers to recover unpaid tax. Jenny Batchelor, Principal, UK Corporate Tax, notes: 

“The Chancellor’s decision to recruit a further 670 HMRC compliance officers and invest an additional £70 million in debt collection sends a clear signal that tax compliance and recovery of outstanding liabilities remain central to the Government’s revenue strategy. 

 “Combined with previous recruitment commitments, greater use of digital reporting, and proposed powers to recover unpaid tax directly from bank accounts, HMRC is being equipped to take a more proactive approach to identifying and addressing non-compliance. 

“For businesses, this reinforces the importance of robust tax governance, accurate reporting, and early engagement with HMRC where liabilities are disputed or payment difficulties arise. 

 “However, additional enforcement capacity must be matched by investment in HMRC’s ability to resolve enquiries efficiently, provide timely guidance, and support taxpayers seeking to comply. The effectiveness of these measures should be judged not only by the additional revenue collected but also by the fairness and efficiency of the tax system.” 

Employment Tax  

For employers, there were a few announcements of importance. Collectively, the Ryan Employment Tax team highlights the overarching takeaway:  

“The Chancellor has promised breathing space now and fresh hope for the future. But for employers, the real test is whether today’s Budget delivers greater certainty or simply more complexity. Changes to employee reward, business expenses, and tax administration create opportunities, but also new responsibilities. Employers need clarity on what these measures mean for their costs, their people, and their plans for growth. Breathing space must mean more time investing in people and less time navigating tax rules.” 

The Chancellor announced EMI 2.0, doubling the generosity of the company share ownership plan. Gemma Stack, Principal, Employment Tax, said: 

“If this is a Budget for working people, giving employees a greater stake in the businesses they help build is a positive step. EMI 2.0 has the potential to align the interests of employers and employees, supporting growth while allowing more people to share in its success.” 

Sue Robinson, Principal, Employment Tax, added:

“Founders and growth companies often win the battle for talent through equity, not salary. The Budget acknowledges this. Expanding EMI is one of the most business-friendly announcements in the package.” 

The Chancellor confirmed an increase to the National Living Wage. Sue Robinson, Principal, Employment Tax, notes:  

“A real-terms pay rise for the lowest-paid will be welcome, and taking the National Living Wage above £13 an hour is a milestone. Employers want to see their people paid well, and many will have been planning for an increase of this size. Yet businesses are absorbing a lot at once. The costs don’t stop at this increase as there are additional costs, such as Employer’s National Insurance Contributions, that also need to be factored in. So it’s the combination of changes that needs managing, not the pay rise itself. Predictability and lead time are what make it possible for employers to keep investing in their people.” 

The Chancellor announced statutory paternity pay for self-employed fathers. Sue Robinson, Principal, Employment Tax, said:  

“Extending paid statutory paternity leave to self-employed fathers is a welcome step. Self-employed parents have long been left out of support that employees are able to benefit from, and this recognises how many people now work for themselves. It also supports the wider aim of helping more parents balance work and family life. The key now is clarity: self-employed people need to know how the scheme will work, who qualifies, and when it starts, so they can plan their finances and their time away from work with confidence.” 

VAT  

The Chancellor announced that from April 2027, the reverse charge on cross-border supplies of services will be restricted to VAT-registered businesses. Sunil Parmar, Principal, VAT Compliance and Consulting, said:  

“HMRC evidently wants to close the VAT gap. The online marketplace changes tackle missing VAT at home, and from April 2027 the reverse charge on cross-border services will apply only to VAT-registered UK customers. Overseas firms selling to unregistered UK businesses, such as small businesses and charities, may now need to register for and charge UK VAT where they never did before.  

“The aim is understandable and the compliance burden will be on overseas businesses who will need to further understand their UK customers’ VAT status. However, it may lead to increased costs for customers who can’t recover VAT (as a result of not being registered) at a time when costs are already rising. The more granular detail on HMRC’s roadmap to e-invoicing is further evidence of HMRC’s commitment to modernise the VAT compliance system and reduce VAT fraud.” 

Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credits

The Chancellor announced the removal of the R&D tax credit Claim Notification Form from 1 April 2027 and simplification of the Additional Information Form from autumn 2027. According to Nigel Holmes, Director of R&D:  

 “This extra compliance burden, the Claim Notification Form (CNF), was brought in to provide HMRC with advance notice of a claim being made but there has never been any published data as to its impact on clamping down on poor or erroneous claims. Indeed, the timeframe of six months post the end of the accounting period meant that many potential claimants could miss out on making a claim.  

“Abolishing this is excellent news. There will be simplifications to the Additional Information Form (AIF) from autumn next year too, which does serve a purpose although it can be clunky to complete.  

“Hopefully one simplification will be to avoid repetition where the information contained therein is also in a more detailed R&D report submitted with the claim.” 

Property Tax  

Overarchingly, Property Tax topics included business rates increases capped at inflation, with two-year protection for qualifying retail, hospitality, and leisure properties. Additionally, the 1p Transitional Relief Supplement was extended for two years. 

The Chancellor announced business rates support bringing greater certainty—but extended a temporary charge. Alex Probyn, Principal, Practice Leader, EAP Property Tax, said:  

 “Capping increases at inflation is a significant intervention, particularly for businesses facing the steepest rises from the 2026 revaluation. It provides greater certainty over bills for the rest of the revaluation cycle, giving retailers and hospitality operators breathing space to invest and protect jobs. 

 “The protection is a real-terms freeze, rather than a cash freeze, and has specified exceptions. The Budget announces no increase in the 2.8p high-value differential but extends the separate 1p Transitional Relief Supplement for two years to help fund the support. 

 “Keeping the high-value supplement at 2.8p honours one commitment, but extending a separate surcharge that was due to end reverses another. Businesses expecting that 1p charge to disappear will now pay it for two more years. Certainty means being able to rely on an end date as well as a tax rate.” 

The Chancellor also announced two-year protection that caps business rates for qualifying retail, hospitality, and leisure properties. Probyn noted: 

 “The high-street protection is substantial, but a real-terms freeze still allows bills to rise with inflation. UK property taxes already account for 3.7% of GDP, which is the highest of any developed economy. Inflation uprating and the extended 1p supplement add to that pressure. Greater certainty is welcome, but predictable costs are not necessarily affordable costs: recurring increases leave less for investment, expansion, and jobs.” 

Customs  

The Chancellor announced further tariff suspensions on food, drink, and fuel, the second round of household-focused tariff reductions in four months. Eleanor Caine, Principal, Customs and Foreign Trade, gave these insights: 

”This is the second round of household-focused tariff reductions in just four months, as the Government looks to ease consumer cost pressures arising from global conflict and supply chain disruption. Removing customs tariffs on these goods may provide modest relief, but this does not automatically translate into lower prices at checkout.  

 “Businesses importing these products need to understand their supply chains, evaluate which products qualify, take steps to make sure they receive the benefit at the border and, importantly, translate the benefit into pricing decisions. All of these adjustments, while aimed at benefitting the pockets of consumers, come at a cost to businesses. Then, the choice ultimately remains with businesses on whether to increase margin or pass these savings onto customers. 

 “More broadly, it’s noticeable that tariff suspensions are becoming an increasingly visible tool for responding to economic disruption. We saw similar measures introduced for protective equipment during COVID-19 and for sunflower oil following supply chain disruption. Since Brexit, the UK has greater autonomy over its import tariff policy, allowing the Government to target specific goods to help manage domestic costs. For businesses, this reinforces the importance of understanding their customs profile and how changes in trade policy can directly influence costs, competitiveness, and pricing. 

“Although these changes could have a small benefit to both businesses and the consumer, at the end of the day, every change to trade and tax policy costs businesses to implement and manage.” 

Watch Ryan’s on-demand webinar for expert analysis of the UK Autumn Budget and what it means for your corporate tax strategy.