DPC Accountants Respond to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ First Budget
On the 26th of November, The Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her Autumn Budget 2025. Read or listen to our Tax Director, Esther Hancock’s take.
On the 26th of November, The Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her Autumn Budget 2025. Read or listen to our Tax Director, Esther Hancock’s take.

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, gave a surprise ‘pre-Budget’ speech last week that appeared to pave the way for tax rises in the Budget on 26 November 2025.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a new way for sole traders and landlords to report their income and expenses to HMRC.
From 6 April 2026, some sole traders and landlords must use it, based on their total annual income from self-employment and property.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered her Spring Statement last week in which she outlined the government’s economic plans, including spending decisions, tax policies and efforts to boost growth while managing public finances. The Statement came on the back of the latest forecasts prepared by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Beginning last week (17 February), Local Authorities were able to begin awarding a 40% reduction in business rates bills to film studios. The tax relief is aimed at boosting the film industry in the UK and contributing towards more box office hits being made. The creative industries sector employs 2.4 million people and provides £124.6 billion to the UK economy.

Conventional approaches to work and earning an income are changing and with the cost of living ever rising, many now use various ways to make some extra cash outside of their main job. If that’s true of you then you may wonder whether you need to pay tax on those earnings. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have launched a new campaign aimed at demystifying whether you need to tell them about your side hustle earnings so you can avoid any nasty surprises.

Following the reduction in the Bank of England base rate, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that their interest rates will be reduced accordingly.
Late payment interest will reduce to 7% from 7.25%. Repayment interest – paid on tax repayments – will be reduced to 3.5%.

Starting a business in the UK is an exciting venture, but it comes with financial, tax, and accounting responsibilities that you must navigate effectively. Understanding what you will need to do from the outset will help make sure that you don’t miss anything, avoid unnecessary costs, and position your new business for success.

The annual self-assessment tax return deadline has just passed, and for many business owners, the experience may have been a mad scramble to gather documents, double-check figures, and submit their returns and pay the tax on time. If that was your situation, you were in good company! HM Revenue and Customs said that 3.4 million taxpayers, almost a third, hadn’t submitted their tax return yet going into the final week before the deadline.

There are only a few days left now to file 2023-24 tax returns before the 31 January deadline. Failing to meet the deadline can result in penalties as well as interest on tax that’s paid late. If you are self-employed and usually complete your own tax return, you may find that the 2023/24 tax return requires you to complete extra entries due to basis period reform. There may also be additional tax to pay as a result.
DPC Accountants, part of the SUMER Group, draws on the expertise of specialist strategic partners to provide high quality, current and bespoke business advice and tax planning solutions.
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