For property owners, landlords and developers, the 2026 Autumn Budget included several changes to Tax on Income, VAT Simplification and SDLT changes. If you own rental property personally, this means higher tax costs and a wider gap between the tax treatment of personally owned and company–owned properties.
Autumn Budget 2026: What property owners, landlords and developers need to know
Tax on Income from Rental Property
Following the announcement in the 2025 Budget, the Government has confirmed that separate income tax rates will apply to property income from 6 April 2027. These rates are two percentage points higher than previously announced.
Therefore, property income arising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be taxed at:
24% for basic-rate tax payers
44% for higher-rate tax payers
49% for additional-rate tax payers
The same rates will also apply to savings income, such as bank interest. Scotland will continue to operate its own devolved income tax regime.
For many landlords, this is likely to be the most significant property tax measure in the Budget. The higher rates will increase the tax payable on rental profits and could reduce overall investment returns.
This widens the gap between the tax treatment of company-owned and personally owned property. If you use borrowing to fund your rental portfolio, restrictions on tax relief for finance costs add to the impact of the higher rates.
If you are a landlord, this is a good time to review whether your current ownership structure still works for you and what the changes could mean for your long-term profitability and cash flow.
VAT Simplification for Housing Association Transactions
From 1 April 2027, land sold to registered social housing providers will now benefit from VAT zero-rating. The change should reduce the sector’s reliance on “golden brick” arrangements.
A golden-brick arrangement enables VAT zero-rating by delaying the land transfer until construction of qualifying homes has progressed beyond foundation level. The site can then be treated as partly constructed dwellings rather than bare land. While effective, this can delay completion, require the developer to fund initial works and add contractual complexity.
The proposed change should allow qualifying land to be zero-rated when sold directly to a registered social housing provider, without first reaching a particular stage of construction. This should enable the parties to complete the sale when it makes commercial sense, rather than allowing the VAT treatment to determine the timetable.
For example, a housing provider that is ready to acquire a site should be able to complete sooner, appoint its preferred contractor and arrange construction around its own funding programme. The developer should no longer need to finance and manage initial works simply to achieve a zero-rated transfer.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Changes
Group Relief
SDLT group relief can apply when land is transferred between companies in the same group. However, the relief may be withdrawn if the purchasing company leaves the group within three years while still holding the property.
Under the existing rules, winding up the vendor company could prevent this clawback from applying. The Government is closing this loophole so that winding up the vendor will no longer prevent a clawback where the purchaser subsequently leaves the group within the usual three-year period.
The change applies only to SDLT, which covers land and property in England and Northern Ireland. If your group is considering an internal transfer, liquidation, company sale or other reorganisation, getting advice before you proceed will help you understand any potential SDLT costs.
Stamp Duty Land Tax on assured tenancies
As previously announced, the Government has abolished SDLT on the rent element of assured tenancies in England and Northern Ireland. The change is backdated to May 2026, when the Renters’ Rights Act came into effect.
Previously, SDLT could become payable where the total rent over the term of a tenancy exceeded the relevant threshold. This could also create a requirement to submit an SDLT return, even where no premium was paid.
The change removes SDLT from rent payable under an assured tenancy, reducing the administrative burden and removing the need to file an SDLT return solely because rent is payable.
Local Government Pension Scheme SDLT Relief
The Local Government Pension Scheme (‘LGPS’) is a workplace pension scheme for eligible employees working in local government and certain related organisations.
The Government is introducing SDLT relief when companies that manage pooled LGPS investments acquire land or property from individual LGPS funds. The relief will apply to qualifying transactions from 28 October 2026 to 31 March 2032.
In simple terms, this should allow property investments to be moved into larger pooled funds without an additional SDLT cost, making the process cheaper and easier to manage.
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