Budget Day Is 28 October

Budget Day Is 28 October. Here's What Creative Business Owners Should (and Shouldn't) Do Before Then

We have a new Prime Minister, a new Chancellor, and a Budget arriving a month earlier than last year. John Healey was appointed Chancellor on 20 July 2026, and he will deliver the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 28 October, with the Office for Budget Responsibility publishing its forecast the same day.

If you were hoping yesterday's Labour conference speech would give the game away, it didn't. Healey's message was that there was "nothing progressive" about losing control of the public finances. One commentator noted that he'll have to spell out next month what he avoided saying in Liverpool: tax rises.

So a lot of creative business owners are asking me the same question: should I be doing something now? Here's how I'd think about it.

What's (probably) off the table

Some things have been ruled out, and they're worth knowing because they narrow the field. The Prime Minister has confirmed the government will honour Labour's 2024 manifesto commitment not to increase the rates of income tax, employee National Insurance or VAT. On corporation tax, Healey has reportedly said he'll stick to the manifesto pledges, which means the 25% cap stays.

The catch is the word "rates." The manifesto commitment covers income tax rates, not thresholds, and the freeze on those thresholds is already doing a lot of quiet work for the Treasury.

Where the Chancellor might look instead

This one is genuinely hard to call. Very little has leaked so far, and if that holds, the Budget could contain some genuine surprises. The areas most commentators are watching are these:

Capital gains tax. The Prime Minister has long argued that the UK taxes work more heavily than wealth. That has led to speculation that capital taxes could change, although nothing specific has been proposed. If you're thinking about selling your agency or winding up your company in the next couple of years, this is the one to watch.

Inheritance tax reliefs. The Prime Minister has reportedly said he's willing to look again at the restrictions to agricultural property relief. Whether that extends to business property relief is unclear.

The tax gap. This one is less headline-grabbing but more likely to affect you. The government wants to raise an extra £10 billion a year by 2029/30 from closing the tax gap, and HMRC is leaning harder on digital tools, real-time data and targeted interventions. In practice, expect more HMRC letters, more data-matching, and less tolerance for untidy records.

What's already locked in, whatever happens on 28 October

This is the part people forget. A lot of the changes that will hit creative business owners were legislated last year, and they're coming regardless.

Dividend tax has already gone up. Since April 2026, dividends are taxed at 10.75% for basic rate and 35.75% for higher rate taxpayers, and Business Asset Disposal Relief rose to 18%. If your salary-and-dividend mix hasn't been reviewed since April, it's overdue.

From next April, the tax on money sitting in your personal accounts goes up too. Interest outside an ISA will be taxed at 22%, 42% and 47%, up from 20%, 40% and 45%. If you've been drawing dividends and leaving the cash in a savings account, that's worth a rethink.

Also from April 2027, most unused pension pots will fall into your estate for inheritance tax purposes. And further out, from April 2029, National Insurance relief on salary sacrifice pension contributions will be capped at the first £2,000 a year.

If you're a freelancer rather than a company owner, don't forget Making Tax Digital. It began in April 2026 for those with income above £50,000, and the threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027. That's a lot of photographers, editors, designers and writers who need to be using the right software by then.

So what should you actually do?

Don't act on rumours. I know it's tempting. But tax changes usually apply from the date they're announced or from the following 6 April, and Budgets sometimes include anti-forestalling rules aimed at transactions rushed through beforehand. Declaring a large dividend or selling assets on the strength of a newspaper story is a bet, not a plan.

Do review the things you control. Your salary and dividend split. Whether your company pension contributions are working as hard as they could; employer contributions straight from the company remain one of the most efficient ways to get money out. How much cash you're holding personally versus in the company. If you have a strong year-end coming, because creative businesses often have lumpy, project-based income, we should talk about timing now rather than in March.

Do think ahead if a sale or exit is on the horizon. If selling your agency, bringing in a partner or closing a company is on your two-year radar, it's worth having a conversation before 28 October. That way you know which levers you have, whatever the Chancellor announces.

Do get your records in order. With HMRC investing heavily in data and compliance, tidy books are your best defence. They're also what makes good advice possible.

And after the Budget?

I'll be reading the small print on 28 October so you don't have to. I'll follow up with what actually changed and what it means for creative businesses.

In the meantime, if you'd like a pre-Budget sense-check of your own position, get in touch. I work with a deliberately small number of clients, which means I have time to look at your situation properly rather than sending you a generic Budget summary.