The chancellor has delivered the Autumn Budget, announcing measures that will affect the cost of employing staff, running business premises and managing personal finances. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and family-run firms, there is some welcome support alongside further cost pressures. Below, we explain the relevant announcements and what they could mean for your business. Higher minimum wages from April 2027 The legal minimum wage will increase by 3.9% from April 2027. This means businesses employing staff on minimum wage will need to budget for higher pay from next spring. The impact may also extend to employees earning just above the minimum, particularly where you want to maintain differences in pay between roles with different responsibilities. So, we recommend that you review your payroll forecasts ahead of April, allowing for any associated increases in employer National Insurance and pension contributions. Business rates relief for qualifying premises From April 2027, the threshold for full Small Business Rate Relief will increase from £12,000 to £18,000 for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England. This could provide a meaningful saving for eligible independent shops, cafés and other businesses operating from smaller premises. Importantly, the announcement does not mean every business property with a rateable value below £18,000 will automatically qualify. Check your property’s rateable value and whether your business meets the relief conditions before building a saving into your forecast. Changes to VAT collection for online sellers Online marketplaces will become responsible for collecting VAT on qualifying sales made by UK businesses through their platforms from October 2027. The rules will cover UK VAT-registered businesses and other UK businesses meeting an annual sales threshold of £90,000 per platform. There are exclusions, including personal sales, second-hand goods and business-to-business transactions. If you sell through platforms such as Amazon or eBay, this could change how VAT is collected and how marketplace payments appear in your accounts. Review the arrangements with us as implementation approaches, particularly if you sell through several platforms or combine online sales with a physical shop. Fuel duty freeze and higher mileage allowances The existing 5p fuel duty cut and freeze will continue until 1 July 2027. This avoids a planned duty increase, although pump prices can still change with wider fuel costs. The 55p tax-free mileage rate for the first 10,000 qualifying business miles in a car or van is also being made permanent. From 6 April 2027, the rate above 10,000 miles will increase from 25p to 35p. If your business reimburses employees who use their own vehicles, you should review your mileage policies and keep accurate records of business journeys. Targeted help with business electricity costs The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will start in April 2027, providing eligible manufacturers with electricity discounts of around 20–25%, including support for costs incurred in 2026/27. Around 10,000 energy-intensive manufacturing businesses are expected to benefit. For a qualifying family manufacturing firm, this could reduce a significant overhead. However, it is targeted support, so businesses should check the eligibility requirements before assuming their electricity costs will fall. Speak to us if you’d like help understanding whether your business could qualify. Import tariff cuts on selected products The government has announced tariff suspensions covering more than 100 food products, alongside cuts affecting kerosene and fertilisers. These changes may be relevant to food retailers, hospitality businesses and family farms. Any saving will depend on the products you buy, the tariffs currently applying and whether suppliers pass reductions on. If your business purchases affected goods, ask suppliers how the changes will be reflected in future prices. Further tax increases on savings and rental income From April 2027, income tax rates on savings and property income will rise by a further two percentage points. This comes on top of the two-percentage-point increase announced in the 2025 Budget. This is relevant to business owners who hold personal savings or receive rental income alongside their trading income. Family members who own premises personally and rent them to the business should also review their position. We recommend updating your personal tax forecast alongside your business forecast, so you understand how much income will remain available after tax. Cash ISA allowance stays at £20,000 Plans to reduce the cash ISA allowance to £12,000 for under-65s have been scrapped. The annual cash ISA limit will remain at £20,000. For owners building personal savings outside their business, this preserves an option for receiving savings interest tax-free. It is worth considering alongside the higher tax rates on savings income when reviewing your personal finances. Parental pay extended to more self-employed parents The Budget also announced that parental pay will be extended to self-employed fathers and partners. For sole traders and family businesses, financial support around the arrival of a child could make taking time away from work more manageable. But check the final eligibility rules and implementation timetable before relying on the payment in your future plans. What should you do next? The effect of this Budget will depend on how your business operates. Employers should prepare for higher wage costs, while qualifying high street firms may benefit from business rates relief. Start by updating your cash flow forecast for April 2027 onwards. Review any reliefs relevant to your premises and consider how the personal tax changes affect the money your family has available. How we can help At Navigate, we support family-run and owner-managed businesses, so we can help you assess which announcements apply to you and update your forecasts, giving you a clearer picture before the changes take effect. Please call our team on 01709 589 439 to discuss what the Budget means for your business 

At Navigate, our experience of working with family businesses has shown us how much easier succession planning can be when conversations start early. However, when you’re in the thick of running a business, handing it over can feel a long way off, so it’s easy to put those conversations off until circumstances force a decision. In this article, we’ll look at how to plan for your retirement income and divide ownership fairly, along with explaining the different ways to pass on your business and the tax implications of each. Start with the retirement you want Before deciding how to transfer the business, consider how you would like your own involvement to change. You may want to leave completely, reduce your working week or remain involved in major decisions. If you expect to keep receiving income from the business, work out how much you will need and whether the proposed arrangements can support it. We can help you assess the income you’ll need and what the business can realistically afford, so your plans are based on figures you feel comfortable with. Decide what fairness means for your family An equal division of shares may seem straightforward until one child works full-time in the business and another has a separate career. The person running the company may want to reinvest profits. A relative who relies on dividends may prefer more money to be paid out. So, discuss how working family members will be paid and how shareholders will benefit from ownership. It is also worth agreeing what happens if someone wants to sell their shares. Sometimes, other family assets can help balance an inheritance while leaving business ownership with the people involved in running it. The right arrangement will depend on what is available and what your family considers fair. Check the tax position before promising shares Family ownership does not automatically make a business exempt from Inheritance Tax. Business Relief can reduce the taxable value of qualifying business interests. For deaths from 6 April 2026, the individual allowance for 100% relief is £2.5 million, shared between qualifying business and agricultural property. Qualifying value above the available allowance generally receives 50% relief. Unused allowance can be claimed from a deceased spouse or civil partner, potentially increasing the survivor’s allowance to £5 million. Eligibility also depends on the business’s activities. Businesses mainly involved in holding investments generally fall outside Business Relief, and there are conditions around ownership periods and surplus assets. We can help you check whether relief is available, particularly if the business has changed since your last review. Get a realistic picture of the value For Inheritance Tax, market value is the starting point. A private company valuation needs to consider the particular shareholding and the information relevant to a potential buyer. Depending on the business, dividend prospects and the rights attached to the shares can matter alongside its financial position. Getting an appropriate valuation early helps you assess the likely tax exposure and discuss the proposed division of ownership using realistic figures. Let us know if you’d like help arranging a business valuation. Passing the business through your will Leaving shares in your will allows you to retain ownership during your lifetime. Ask your solicitor to review the will alongside the company’s articles and any shareholders’ agreement. Those documents need to support the intended transfer, including any restrictions on who can inherit or acquire shares. You should also agree who could keep the business running if you died unexpectedly. And that person doesn’t necessarily need to be the eventual owner. Making gifts during your lifetime Giving shares to adult children during your lifetime can give them time to settle into ownership while you’re still available to support them. An outright gift will generally fall outside your estate if you survive for seven years, provided you have not retained a benefit in the gifted property. Giving away shares can also create a Capital Gains Tax liability, even when you receive no payment. We can help you understand the potential tax cost before making a gift and check whether relief is available. Using a trust A trust can allow trustees to manage shares for beneficiaries under agreed terms. This may be useful where children are young or the family wants ownership to be managed over a longer period. The tax treatment depends on the trust. Inheritance Tax can arise when assets enter certain trusts, at ten-year anniversaries and when assets leave. Those potential charges need to be weighed against the reasons for using the arrangement. Work out how any tax bill would be paid A valuable business may have relatively little cash available outside its day-to-day operations. Consider how the family would meet a tax liability while keeping enough money in the business. For qualifying business property inherited from 6 April 2026, Inheritance Tax can be paid in equal annual instalments over ten years, interest-free if paid on time. Selling the property can bring the outstanding balance forward. This can help with timing, although the payments still need to be affordable. Talk to us about your plans You may already know who you would like to take over, or you may still be working through the possibilities. You’re welcome to speak to us at either stage. At Navigate Accountancy, we always take the time to understand what you want for yourself and your family, then help you work through the financial and tax decisions involved. Feel free to give our team a c all on 01709 589 439 to discuss succession planning for your family business.