Capital Gains Tax and the Autumn Budget: what a proposed change could mean for your sale

The Budget is confirmed for 28 October. Here's what's being reported on Capital Gains Tax, and what it could mean in practice for a business sale.

That's £840,000 more tax per shareholder, and just as much less in your pocket, on this illustration alone.

We're not saying this will happen, and if it does, nobody yet knows whether it would apply from Budget day itself or be phased in with some lead time, there's precedent for both.

What's certain is that being prepared isn't wasted.

What you can do now

Nobody knows what the Budget will actually contain until 28 October, or, if it does include a change of this kind, whether it would apply from Budget day itself or be phased in with some lead time. There's precedent for both.

The main CGT rate rise in October 2024 applied from Budget day, backed by anti-forestalling rules that stopped people signing a contract early and completing later to lock in the lower rate, it's the completion date that counts, not the date you exchange contracts. Business Asset Disposal Relief shows the other pattern: its rate rose in stages, from 10% to 14% in April 2025 and to 18% in April 2026, each increase announced well in advance.

Because a full sale takes months from first advice to completion, the owners best placed to respond well to either pattern are the ones who've already done the groundwork, not the ones who've merely signed something. That groundwork is the same regardless of what the Budget says, and it starts with two straightforward steps.

First, get a proper indicative valuation. Our sector-intelligent valuation calculator models EBITDA multiples across 16 sectors against your own numbers and produces a full report, including how Business Asset Disposal Relief applies at today's rates, so you and your co-shareholders can see where you actually stand.

Second, get the reliefs and structuring right. We work alongside our colleagues at UHY Williamson Croft's tax advisory team, who can advise on which reliefs apply to your specific shareholding and on structuring options if a sale isn't imminent but is somewhere on the horizon. Find out more here.

Neither step depends on which way the Budget goes. Both are worth doing now.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Figures are illustrative and based on rates and reliefs applying in the 2026/27 tax year under current legislation. The proposed change described is reported, not confirmed, and the Budget may announce something different, or nothing, on this front. The anti-forestalling reference describes precedent from the last CGT rate change, not a prediction of what will happen this time. Please speak to a qualified tax adviser about your own circumstances before making decisions.