Autumn Budget set for 28 October 2026: the dates small businesses should have in the diary

On 31 July 2026 the Chancellor, John Healey, confirmed that the Budget will be delivered on Wednesday 28 October 2026, with the Office for Budget Responsibility publishing its forecast the same day. For small companies that is the headline date of the autumn, but it is not the only one worth writing down.

The autumn 2026 calendar

• 17 September 2026: Bank of England rate decision. Bank Rate has been 3.75% since 18 December 2025, and it was held again on 17 September (our note on the decision). Capital on Tap's variable rate tracks Bank Rate, so any move shows up in your interest rate at the start of your next billing period.
• 5 October 2026: deadline to tell HMRC you need to file a Self Assessment return for 2025 to 2026, if you have not filed before.
• 28 October 2026: Autumn Budget.
• 31 October 2026: paper Self Assessment returns must reach HMRC.
• 5 November 2026: Bank of England decision, with the November Monetary Policy Report.
• Mid-November 2026: the end of the twelve-month transition for Companies House identity verification. Existing directors confirm verification with their next confirmation statement.
• 1 December 2026: objections to a company being struck off must be submitted through Companies House's online service only.
• 17 December 2026: the year's final Bank of England decision.
• 31 January 2027: online Self Assessment filing and payment deadline.

Making Tax Digital is now live for some

Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 have been in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax since 6 April 2026. From September 2026, HMRC says it will start signing up anyone who should be using it for 2026 to 2027 but has not registered. The £30,000 threshold follows on 6 April 2027 and £20,000 in 2028. This is a sole-trader and landlord regime; a limited company's Corporation Tax is not affected.

Why it matters for card users

Budgets tend to touch three things card-using businesses care about: Corporation Tax and the thresholds around it, employer National Insurance (15% with a £5,000 secondary threshold and a £10,500 Employment Allowance for 2026 to 2027), and the treatment of business expenses. None of that is announced yet, and we will not guess. What you can do now is make sure tax payments are set up the right way. HMRC accepts corporate credit cards for most taxes but charges a non-refundable fee that is only shown inside the payment journey, and it does not accept personal credit cards at all.

Our guide to paying HMRC and suppliers by card covers what HMRC accepts, what it charges, and when Capital on Tap's Bill Pay makes more sense than a card payment. We will update this entry after 28 October with anything that changes for small companies.

Update, 28 October 2026

The Budget was delivered on 28 October as planned. The headline rates of income tax, National Insurance and VAT are unchanged, Corporation Tax stays capped at 25%, and we found no change to the employer National Insurance rate, threshold or Employment Allowance in the published document. People joining Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in April 2027 get a penalty easement on their first four quarterly updates. Our summary of the Budget for small companies covers capital allowances, mileage rates, Business Asset Disposal Relief and the rest.