Budget date confirmed
John Healey MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has informed Parliament’s Treasury Committee that the Budget 2026 will be delivered on 28 October 2026.
In his letter, the Chancellor says: “This will be a Budget that moves power and money out of Westminster, into every postcode in Britain. Fiscal credibility is the bedrock of economic stability and national security. That is why we will abide by the fiscal rules, ensuring we retain a buffer to protect us against uncertainty and the impact of instability in the Middle East.”
New Financial Secretary
On 21 July 2026, James Murray MP was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury (FST) and Paymaster General. With this appointment, ministerial responsibility for HMRC has transferred to the FST from the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (XST). James Murray MP was XST between 9 July 2024 and 1 September 2025.
MTD income tax issues
HMRC has published the latest edition of its Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax software developer newsletter. The newsletter contains a section on common issues reported by software developers, which may be of interest to taxpayers and agents. Topics covered include:
- The election to use calendar quarters. HMRC’s advice is to wait until the election has been reflected, and the taxpayers’ obligations have been updated, before making a submission.
- Missing obligations. HMRC is aware of “a very small number of customers whose quarterly obligations were not created during sign-up”, and who are unable to make submissions. HMRC says that “corrective action is expected to be completed by the end of July”.
Pillar 2: failed returns
HMRC has updated its guidance on the action to take where an information return is rejected due to errors. Where a company has submitted an information return that has failed validation checks, the company should resubmit the return so that it passes validation. If this is done on or before 1 September 2026, HMRC will use the date it received the first information return as the submission date.
HMRC says that the company may need to contact its software provider for guidance on how to submit a previously failed return, and that the company may need to make corrections to the return before it resubmits it.
Changes to the capital goods scheme
HMRC has published Revenue & Customs Brief 7 (2026), explaining the changes made to the VAT capital goods scheme (CGS) with effect from 29 July 2026. The changes are covered in detail in an earlier article.
The Brief makes it clear that, if a capital item fell within the CGS before 29 July 2026, it will stay in the CGS until the end of its adjustment period.
Business rates on pubs
The House of Commons Library has published a research briefing on business rates on pubs. The briefing summarises the effects on pubs of the business rates revaluation, the removal of covid-era relief and the recent announcement of a new relief.
Further information
How to build better tax system
ICAEW outlines the five institutional pillars needed to ensure the proper functioning of the UK tax system.
Tax Faculty
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