In recognition that the existing limits in some of these schemes restrict their availability to companies in their critical scale-up phase, the Government announced a package of tax changes to support scaling companies to attract investment and talent. There is also an objective to take further steps to ensure tax support is ‘founder friendly’. A call for evidence has therefore been published seeking input from across the scale-up and investor community on the impact of existing schemes and options to provide further support to ensure the UK entrepreneurial ecosystem thrives. The VCT and EIS company investment limits will increase to £10 million (£20 million for Knowledge Intensive Companies (KICs)) and the lifetime company investment limit will increase to £24 million (£40 million for KICs). From April 2026, the gross assets test will increase to £30 million before share issue, and £35 million after. However, the rate of VCT income tax relief will decrease from 30 percent to 20 percent. No changes were announced to the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.

A soft landing for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax, no changes to corporation tax rates, e-invoicing from 2029, more timely payments of VAT and PAYE, and frozen employer NICs thresholds were the main features with some minor changes to capital allowances and a new consultation on entrepreneurship. More details on these and other relevant changes is set out below. Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax As lobbied for by the Institute, the Government announced a soft landing for MTD for income tax. Late submission penalties for quarterly updates will not apply during the 2026/27 tax year. However, from 6 April 2027 the new penalty regime will apply for late submission and late payments for all taxpayers. The penalties due for late payment of income tax self-assessment and VAT will also increase from April 2027. More details on these announcements were provided in a subsequent email received from HMRC. It was also confirmed that HMRC will update its guidance to clarify that childminders within qualifying sole trade income above the mandation threshold must follow the MTD rules. For other childminders, HMRC will clarify how existing arrangements apply to those working from non-domestic premises. In addition, taxpayers who have a power of attorney and those under a deputyship (as appointed by the Court of Protection) are now permanently exempt from MTD. The MTD start date has also been deferred to 6 April 2027 for some others (recipients of trust and estates income, individuals who use averaging adjustments, those eligible for qualifying care relief and non-UK resident foreign entertainers or sportspeople). E-invoicing from 2029 From April 2029, all VAT invoices will need to be issued in a specified electronic format. The Government will work with stakeholders to develop an implementation roadmap to be published at Budget 2026. The decision to mandate from April 2029 follows the announcement on e-invoicing in Ireland’s most recent Budget subsequent to which the Revenue Commissioners published “Implementation of eInvoicing in Ireland”. Employers The £5,000 per-employee secondary NICs threshold for employers is frozen until 5 April 2031 after dropping from £9,100 from 6 April 2025. As the NICs upper earnings limit and upper profits limits will both remain at £50,270 until April 2031, the other employer NICs reliefs thresholds are also frozen to that date. The employer NICs relief for employers hiring veterans in their first civilian role is being extended to April 2028, from which point support for veterans into employment will be covered through spending review settlements rather than through this tax relief. And finally, the income tax and NICs exemption for employer-provided benefits is to be extended to cover reimbursements for eye tests, home working equipment, and flu vaccinations. This will take effect from 6 April 2026. VAT and PAYE liabilities A consultation will be published in early 2026 to consider ways that VAT and PAYE liabilities can be paid promptly without the taxpayer falling behind on payments, including requiring more tax payments by direct debit. Capital allowances From April 2026 (1 April for companies and 6 April for unincorporated businesses), the rate of writing down allowances in the main pool will be reduced from 18 percent to 14 percent. However, from 1 January 2026 a new first-year allowance (FYA) of 40 percent will be available for main‑rate assets. Cars, second-hand assets and assets for leasing overseas will not be eligible. The benefit this new FYA remains to be seen given that 100 relief is already available for all main pool expenditure via the £1 million annual investment allowance limit with companies also having unlimited 100 percent relief for new main pool expenditure under full expensing. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) anti-avoidance: share exchanges and reorganisations The anti-avoidance provisions that apply to share exchanges and company reorganisations were amended from 26 November 2025 to ensure ‘that they apply to those persons who have entered into arrangements where the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the arrangement is to secure a tax advantage that they would not ordinarily have been entitled to’. CGT: non-resident capital gains for UK land and property This legislation was amended from 26 November 2025 to close what the Government refers to as loopholes for protected cell companies. Further administrative reforms are expected from 6 April 2026. Stamp duty reserve tax new UK listing relief A new UK listing relief, a three-year exemption from stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) for companies listing in the UK has been introduced. The measure provides for an exemption from the 0.5 percent SDRT charge on agreements to transfer securities of a company whose shares are newly listed on a UK regulated market. The exemption applies from the listing of the company’s shares. Once in the post-listing period the exemption will apply to all of the company’s securities (not just shares). The new relief took effect for agreements to transfer made on or after 27 November 2025 and applies if the shares of the relevant company are newly listed on or after that date. Customs system reporting and low value imports Reforms are expected to be made to simplify reporting requirements and improve HMRC services. Further reforms to streamline processes and improve the taxpayer experience are expected to be announced in Spring 2026. The customs duty relief for low value imports (£135 or less) is being removed from March 2029 at the latest. How these goods are declared into the UK is also being changed from the same date meaning new import arrangements will apply. The Government will consult on the technical detail of these new arrangements and is stressing that it is not alone in taking this approach to low value imports, with its international partners, taking similar steps, including the US and the EU. Corporation tax The new service to provide major investment projects with advance tax certainty which was committed to in the Corporate Tax Roadmap published in October 2024 will be launched in July 2026. The penalties for taxpayers submitting a corporation tax return late will be doubled from 1 April 2026 and £59 million is also to be invested in new technology over the next five years to provide taxpayers with real-time digital prompts for VAT filing software from April 2027, and Corporation Tax filing software from April 2028. The Government will also consult in early 2026 on delivery timescales and enforcement for prescribing the content and tagging of the corporation tax computation. A consultation will also be published in early 2026 to explore introducing new requirements to report transactions between close companies and their shareholders to HMRC. The Government will also pilot a targeted R&D tax relief advance assurance service from Spring 2026 to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to gain clarity on key aspects of their R&D tax relief claims before submission to HMRC. A summary of responses to the advance clearance consultation was also published. The following was also announced: The shadow advanced corporation tax rules will be repealed from 1 April 2026, The Government will legislate in Finance Bill 2025/26 to simplify administration in relation to reporting companies under the corporate interest restriction with most of the changes expected to take effect for periods ending on or after 31 March 2026, Finance Bill 2025/26 will contain legislation setting out the treatment for corporation tax purposes of intra-group payments made in return for surrendered various tax credits for research and development, audio-visual expenditure, and video games expenditure. This is effective for payments made on or after 26 November 2025, For Pillar Two, technical amendments to the multinational top-up tax and the domestic top-up tax will feature in Finance Bill 2025/26 to incorporate the latest published international updates and stakeholder feedback, Legislation in the Bill will provide for the payment of interest on amounts collected from taxpayers and now repayable following a successful challenge of a European Commission Decision on controlled foreign companies and the reversal of State aid recovery, and The Government will also work with industry stakeholders over the coming months to explore targeted legislative changes aimed at ensuring that the qualifying asset holding companies regime continues to operate effectively. Any legislative changes will be introduced in a future Finance Bill. Transfer pricing, permanent establishment and the diverted profits tax In-scope multinationals will be required to submit an international controlled transaction schedule which will report information annually on cross-border related party transactions. This measure is expected to take effect for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. Technical consultation on its design will take place in Spring 2026. Finance Bill 2025-26 will also include legislation to simplify the taxation of related party transactions, non-resident companies trading in the UK, and profits diverted from the UK, for chargeable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026.

Frozen thresholds, increased rates of income tax for property, savings, and dividend income, earlier self-assessment payments, reduced cash ISA thresholds, and national insurance contributions (NICs) for pensions salary sacrifice were the main announcements last week. More details on these and other relevant changes is set out below. Tax thresholds The continued freeze on various personal tax thresholds was confirmed. The income tax thresholds and the equivalent NICs thresholds for employees and self-employed individuals will stay at their current levels for a further three years until 5 April 2031. The inheritance tax (IHT) nil rate bands are also frozen for a further year to the same date. As a result, the £12,570 personal allowance which applies UK wide will remain at this level until April 2031. The additional rate threshold (which is also the threshold at which the higher rate band ends) will remain at £125,140 until the same date. The higher rate threshold for non-savings, dividend, and property income applies to taxpayers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for savings and dividend income it applies UK wide. On the IHT front, the £325,000 nil rate band and £175,000 residence nil rate band are already fixed until April 2030 and will now remain frozen until April 2031. It was also announced that the combined (and now transferable) allowance for the 100 percent rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will also be fixed at £1 million until April 2031. The NICs primary threshold and lower profits limit will stay at £12,570 from April 2028 until April 2031. The NICs upper earnings limit and upper profits limit will also be maintained at £50,270 from April 2028 to April 2031. The lower earnings limit and the small profits threshold will increase from 2026/27 to £6,708 and £7,105 respectively. For those paying voluntarily, Class 2 and Class 3 NICs will increase to £3.65 per week and £18.40 per week respectively from 2026/27. From 6 April 2026, access to paying voluntary Class 2 NICs will be removed for those who are abroad and ‘the initial residency or the contributions requirement to pay voluntary NICs outside of the UK will increase to 10 years’. A wider review of voluntary NICs via a call for evidence will be launched in early 2026. Ordering of reliefs and allowances The Budget Red Book also confirmed that the income tax rules will be changed so that reliefs and allowances deductible at steps 2 and 3 of the income tax calculation will only be applied to property, savings and dividend income after they have been applied to other sources of income. This will take effect from 6 April 2027 and is linked to the increased rates of income tax applicable to these types of income. NICs on salary sacrifice pension contributions For pension contributions above £2,000 per annum made via salary sacrifice, employer and employee NICs will both be payable from 6 April 2029. More details on this are available in guidance published by HM Treasury. This is another change which will disincentivise saving for retirement and reduce the attractiveness of employer contributions. Property, savings, and dividend income From 6 April 2026, the basic rate of tax for dividend income will increase from 8.75 percent to 10.75 percent, and the higher rate will increase from 33.75 percent to 35.75 percent. There will be no change to the dividend additional rate which will remain at 39.35 percent and the dividend tax credit for non-UK residents will be abolished from 6 April 2026. For both property income and savings income, a 2 percent increase to all rate bands will take effect from 6 April 2027.The property basic rate will be 22 percent, the higher rate will be 42 percent, and the additional rate will be 47 percent. The tax rates on savings income will also increase to these rates from 6 April 2027. The starting rate for savings will remain at its £5,000 threshold in 2026/27 until 5 April 2031. These increases are likely to act as a disincentive to investment, and for property income will most likely be passed on by landlords to their tenants via higher rents. It was also confirmed that the changes to property income rates will apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Government therefore will engage with the devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales to provide them with the ability to set property income tax rates in line with the current income tax powers in each of their fiscal frameworks. Earlier self-assessment payments From April 2029, self-assessment (SA) taxpayers with PAYE income will be required to pay more of their SA liability in-year via PAYE. The Government will publish a consultation in early 2026 on delivering this change, and also on ‘timelier tax payment’ for those with only SA income. This change comes as a surprise given discussions in the last few years in the context of Making Tax Digital that the Government was not seeking to target earlier payments of SA tax. Individual savings accounts (ISAs) From 6 April 2027 the annual ISA cash limit will be reduced from £20,000 to £12,000. Annual subscription limits will remain at £20,000 for ISAs, £4,000 for Lifetime ISAs and £9,000 for Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds until 5 April 2031. Savers over the age of 65 will continue to be able to save up to £20,000 in a cash ISA each year. Image rights payments From 6 April 2027 all image rights payments related to an employment will be treated as taxable employment income and subject to income tax, and employer and employee NICs, a move which is viewed as targeting the UK’s sporting sector. Capital gains tax (CGT): incorporation relief claims process and employee ownership trusts From 6 April 2026 Section 162 TCGA 1992 incorporation relief for capital gains tax (CGT) which is available for transfers of a business to a company will no longer apply automatically where its conditions are met, therefore a new claims process will be introduced for this relief. From 26 November 2025 the CGT relief available on qualifying disposals to Employee Ownership Trusts was reduced from 100 percent of the gain to 50 percent. Miscellaneous increased thresholds The married couples allowance, blind persons allowance and qualifying care relief (the amount of income tax relief available to foster carers and shared lives carers) will all increase by 3.8 percent from 6 April 2026. Loan charge review outcome and new settlement opportunity In response to Ray McCann’s independent review of the loan charge and the Government’s subsequent response to this, both of which were published alongside the Budget, the Government published details in a policy paper of a new settlement opportunity to bring this issue to a close for taxpayers. Employment expenses for homeworking and cancelled shifts Income tax relief for non-reimbursed home working expenses will be removed for employees from 6 April 2026. However, employers will still be able to reimburse employees for these costs, where eligible, without having to deduct PAYE. Legislation will also be introduced to ensure that payments introduced by Section 27BP of the Employment Rights Act 1996 for shifts cancelled, moved, or curtailed at short notice will be treated as earnings from 6 April 2026. IHT: treatment of unused pension funds/death benefits and anti-avoidance As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will bring most unused pension funds and death benefits into the scope of UK IHT from 6 April 2027. However, personal representatives will be able to direct pension scheme administrators to withhold 50 percent of taxable benefits for up to 15 months and pay the IHT due in certain circumstances. After they have received clearance from HMRC, personal representatives will also be discharged from the liability to pay IHT on pensions discovered. According to the Budget Red book, the Government will legislate to prevent IHT avoidance through certain loopholes, ‘including ensuring UK agricultural property held via non-UK entities is treated as UK-situated addressing changes in status of trust assets before and exit charge, and restricting charity exemptions to direct gifts to UK charities and clubs’. These changes, which are yet to be legislated for, took effect for trust exit charges from 26 November 2025, for gifts to charities in lifetime from 26 November 2025 or on a death from 6 April 2026, and for UK agricultural property from 6 April 2026. A cap of £5 million will also be introduced on relevant property trust charges for pre 30 October 2024 excluded property trusts. This change applies retrospectively to trust charges from 6 April 2025. Residence-based tax regime The Government also says that it will publish legislation to make minor corrections to the residence-based tax regime which took effect from 6 April 2025 for income tax, CGT and IHT. Temporary non-residence anti-avoidance Legislation will apply from 6 April 2026 to remove the post departure trade profits provisions from this legislation which will mean that all dividends received during a period of temporary non-residence will be chargeable to UK tax. Overseas workday relief The proportion of earnings an employer can exclude from PAYE through a PAYE notification will be limited to a maximum 30 percent if the individual is a qualifying new resident and eligible for overseas workday relief. This will take effect from 6 April 2026. Defined benefit (DB) pension scheme surplus payments From April 2027 the government will enable ‘well-funded’ DB pension schemes to pay surplus funds directly to scheme members over the normal minimum pension age, where scheme rules and trustees permit it.

Last week’s Autumn Budget, the second for Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, featured tax rises of £26 billion and are being used to finance additional spending and provide more fiscal headroom of almost £22 billion, up from £9.9 billion after last year’s Budget. You can read the Institute’s initial reaction to the Budget here, see coverage of our comments across the media later in this newsletter, and visit our UK Budget 2025 page for useful links, all UK Autumn Budget 2025 news stories and useful guidance. Last week a Special Budget Newsletter issued to members on the day covering our reaction and key announcements. In depth coverage of the 2025 UK Autumn Budget features later in this newsletter and in next Monday’s edition of Chartered Accountants Tax News. The Institute will be discussing the Budget in the coming weeks with HMRC and local Government. Last Wednesday the Chancellor confirmed that the April 2026 changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief for inheritance tax are proceeding; the only mitigation announced is that the £1 million allowance will be transferable between spouses and civil partners. Whilst this is welcome and was amongst a range of recommendations made by the Institute in previous submissions to Government on this issue, it does not go far enough to protect genuine farming activity and older farmers, particularly in Northern Ireland. The Institute continues to call for a special derogation from these changes for the region given the importance of our agricultural and family owned business sectors. Our Budget 2025 analysis this week and next is based on the publications of HMRC and HM Treasury. The Budget 2025 Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates has also been published and HMRC has sent a detailed update by email. The Chancellor’s Budget Resolutions were subsequently introduced to Parliament on the afternoon of the Budget. These are expected to be followed later this week with the publication of the draft Finance Bill. A date is yet to be set for first reading of this Bill in the House of Commons, which will be known as Finance No. 2 Bill. The Treasury Select Committee has also announced a series of evidence sessions to scrutinise the Budget.

Readers are reminded that Monday 15 December 2025 is the payment deadline for capital gains tax (CGT) liabilities arising in the period 1 January to 30 November 2025. Revenue’s CGT webpage confirms that there is a facility to register for CGT via MyAccount. Taxpayers registered for CGT via MyAccount can make payments online using a debit/credit card or a one-off single debit instruction.

The OECD has published its report on Corporate Tax Statistics for 2025 which provides data from more than 170 countries and jurisdictions, covering over 8,700 MNEs worldwide. The report indicates that while statutory rates of corporate tax have remained stable, corporate tax revenues have increased.

 Whether you’re applying for a new role in practice, industry, or financial services, your CV is your professional handshake and your sales document to get you in the door and to create an opportunity for you to speak to a prospective employer. It’s often the first impression you make with employers, recruiters and HR professionals. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be powerful allies in refining and tailoring your CV—but only if used wisely. For members of Chartered Accountants Ireland, the challenge is to harness AI for efficiency while maintaining authenticity, accuracy, and professional integrity. ✅ DO: Use AI to polish structure and language : Streamline formatting for clarity and consistency - Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are widely used by employers and recruitment firms. AI can help ensure your CV is clean, consistent, and easy to review, reducing the risk of being overlooked. Instruct the AI to reformat your CV to be more palatable to an ATS. Refine bullet points to highlight achievements and value-add - Instead of listing duties and responsibilities, use AI to sharpen your phrasing around measurable outcomes. For example: “Delivered audit efficiencies resulting in a 15% reduction in fieldwork hours.” “Implemented ERP system migration across three subsidiaries, improving reporting accuracy.” Ask the AI to suggest and enhance these elements in your cv. Tailor your CV to each role - AI will help you align your CV with keywords in job specifications. Tip:  Feed the job spec to the AI and then and ask it to align your CV with the required skills and competencies in the role. If you are pivoting into a different area of career direction AI tools can reposition the terms and grammar in your CV to be more pointed and bring your transferrable soft skills to the fore.   ✅ DO: Let AI help with tone and grammar : Ensure professional, confident language AI can eliminate passive phrasing and sharpen your tone so that your CV reads as achievement-focused rather than task-oriented. Instruct it on latter iterations to ‘sharpen the tone and make the terminology more achievement focused’. Highlight quantifiable results: Employers value tangible outcomes. AI can help you reframe statements to emphasise your measurable impact: “I reduced monthly reporting cycle by 30%.” “I led the €5M budget planning process across multiple jurisdictions.” ✅ DO: Use AI for brainstorming: Generate strong action verbs - AI can suggest impactful verbs such as streamlined, negotiated, implemented, advised, or optimised—helping you avoid repetition. Identify transferable skills - Particularly useful if you’re pivoting from practice to industry or vice versa. AI can help you surface skills such as stakeholder management, regulatory compliance, or systems implementation that may not be obvious at first glance. ❌ DON’T: Fabricate Qualifications or Experience Avoid inflated claims - AI tools may suggest impressive-sounding credentials or roles. Do not overinflate your actual experience or core skills and expertise.  Misrepresentation can damage your personal brand and career prospects. Always carefully review the revised CV and check your level of comfort with it. ❌ DON’T: Submit Without Personal Review Guard against generic output - AI-generated CVs can sometimes sound formulaic or misaligned with what an employer expects to see in a CV. Proofread, personalise and put your own stamp on it which may mean small rewrites in sections. Include specific context - Employers value detail such as: Client sectors (e.g., construction, agri-food, financial services). Company names where acceptable. Employer revenue and employee numbers to give scale context. Eg - Software proficiencies (Sage, Xero, SAP, Oracle). Eg - Regulatory experience (Irish GAAP, IFRS, FRS 102, Central Bank reporting). Size and scale of current company eg- Number of employees in the company. Number of people you directly manage. Detail re the turnover level of the company for context. ❌ DON’T: Overuse Buzzwords Substance over style Phrases like “dynamic leader” or “results-driven” are acceptable only when backed by evidence. Employers prefer concrete achievements over vague descriptors. Let your outcomes speak for themselves - Replace generic claims with specifics: Instead of “innovative thinker,” write “developed a tax planning strategy that reduced liabilities by €200K.” ⚖️ Final Thoughts AI is a powerful tool for members seeking to sharpen their CVs. It can enhance clarity, structure, and relevance, but it is not a substitute for authenticity! Your CV should reflect your unique career journey, values, and professional integrity. Make sure your personality and ambitions shine through in the document. Think of AI as your assistant, not your author. Use it to polish, but ensure the final document is unmistakably yours. If you’d like tailored support for your CV or career progression, reach out to your Chartered Accountants Ireland Careers Team—we can provide personalised guidance aligned customised to your individual situation.

Wednesday’s UK Autumn Budget and the second for Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, as predicted, featured tax rises, £26 billion in total to be exact (down slightly from £32 billion in the 2024 Autumn Budget). These are mostly financing additional spending and providing additional fiscal headroom. According to the Chancellor, the Budget will build ‘fiscal headroom’ of almost £22 billion, up from £9.9 billion after last year’s Budget. The rises come on the back of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s downgraded productivity forecast, which had been published online early by mistake and saw Parliamentarians poring over the document on their phones as they sat in the House of Commons chamber before the Chancellor stood up to speak. Disappointingly, the only mitigation that has been announced to the controversial changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief which take effect from next April is that the £1 million allowance will be transferable between spouses and civil partners. However this was amongst our recommendations on this issue made here, here and most recently in our evidence submission to the House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee inquiry into draft Finance Bill 2025/26. This, and a range of other mitigations, were also highlighted by the Institute’s UK Tax Manager, Leontia Doran, in last month’s oral evidence session to that Committee. Whilst this is a welcome mitigation, it does not go far enough to ensure that the changes are targeted at wealthier farms and businesses. Further, there have been no transitional measures announced to protect older farmers in particular. The Institute will continue to call for a special derogation from these changes for Northern Ireland. You can read our full reaction to the Budget in our Press Release and visit our UK Autumn Budget 2025 page here. Buried in the Budget publications was the news that in 2026/27 there will be no late submission penalties for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax quarterly updates. The Institute has been continually calling for the Government to announce a soft landing for MTD and did so as recently as last month in our Pre-Budget submission and in a letter in September to HMRC’s new CEO. Also hidden on page 110 of the Budget Red Book was the news that the Government will not regulate tax advisers. Instead it “will work in partnership with the sector to raise standards in the tax advice market”. What this precisely means is not yet clear, however this a welcome confirmation that our members are not facing dual regulation which we recommended in our response to the consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market – strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ in 2024. On the personal taxes side, several thresholds will continue to be frozen until 5 April 2031, and, commencing from April 2026, there will be an increase to the income tax rates for dividends of 2 percent for both the basic and higher rate, followed by a 2 percent increase for all rate bands for property and savings income from April 2027. This will apply in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. On the business front, e-invoicing will be mandatory for business from April 2029. There are also proposals to require income tax Self-Assessment taxpayers with PAYE income to pay more of their tax liability in-year via PAYE from April 2029. The Northern Ireland Executive will receive an additional £240 million resource funding and £130 million capital funding through the operation of the Barnett formula. The Government also announced the proposed sector, geography, and co-investment for the Northern Ireland Enhanced Investment Zone. And to boost trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, £16.55 million will be provided over three years from 2026/27 to “create a ‘one stop shop’ support service that will help businesses navigate the Windsor Framework, unlock opportunities for trading across the UK internal market, and enable businesses based in Northern Ireland to take advantage of their access to UK and EU markets”. The Institute will continue its campaign for a lower rate of corporation tax for Northern Ireland and last week wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury ahead of the Budget on this issue. The publications of HMRC and HM Treasury set out the Budget in full detail. More detail on the key tax announcements will feature in next Monday’s edition of Chartered Accountants Tax News.

    In this week’s Sustainability/ESG Bulletin, read about the approaching deadline for gender pay gap reporting, funding announced for climate financing and local biodiversity action, and the publication of Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport. Also covered are green measures in the UK Autumn Budget 2026, the adoption of the 2026 EU budget and the delay of the EU Deforestation law, as well as outcomes from COP30 and the latest articles, resources, jobs and upcoming events. Chartered Accountants Ireland Congratulations to the SEAI Energy Awards 2025 winners Chartered Accountants Ireland would like to congratulate the winners and shortlisted candidates for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s 2025 SEAI Energy Awards, which were announced this week. Commenting, Institute’s Sustainability Advocacy Manager Susan Rossney and member of the Awards judging panel said: “ I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the winners of the Energy Efficiency Awards. Your innovation, dedication, and hard work stood out among an impressive field of entries. You are leading the way toward a more sustainable future. Particular congratulations are due to Institute member and co-founder of SustainabilityWorks, Laura Heuston, FCA, who is a member of the Institute’s Sustainability Expert Working Group and who was presented with the prestigious Chair’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Energy.” The SEAI Energy Awards celebrate individuals and organisations who demonstrate excellence in the drive for reduced fossil fuel usage, reduced emissions, reduced costs and a more resilient economy.  IRELAND Gender pay gap reporting deadline approaches The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, TD, has urged employers to publish their gender pay gap reports ahead of this week’s deadline for reporting. Since 2024, all employers with over 150 employees have been legally obliged to report on their gender pay gap. This has now been extended to all employers with over 50 staff, who will need to report for the first time this year, before the end of this week. The Gender Pay Gap Portal is accessible via the Department of Children, Disability and Equality’s webpage at gov.ie/genderpaygap. €15.2 million climate financing announced Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien, TD, has announced €15.2 million in climate finance for Irish climate finance partners, while attending COP30, in Belém, Brazil. €10 million has been pledged to the Adaptation Fund for 2026, a fund dedicated to supporting developing countries build resilience and readiness for the effects of our changing climate. Ireland will host a new UN Development Programme (UNDP) Project Office in Dublin, dedicated to advancing sustainable finance to mobile the capital that will power a fair, inclusive, and global green transition.   Local Biodiversity Action Fund 2026 launches Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, TD, has launched the Local Biodiversity Action Fund 2026, with funding of €3 million being made available for local authorities to access for biodiversity projects under the scheme, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan ‘Actions for Nature’ was launched in January 2024 and is available here. The closing date for applications is 5 February 2026. Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport publishes Cabinet approval has been granted for the Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport under the recent National Development Plan (NDP) Review, the aim of which is to support comprehensive upgrading of Ireland’s water, energy and transport infrastructure. The Plan commits €22.3 billion to a diverse range of transport options, including public transport, active travel, roads, maritime, and aviation, over the next five years. An additional allocation of €2 billion from the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund will support the development of MetroLink, bringing the total NDP Exchequer investment in transport to €24.3 billion between 2026 and 2030. NORTHERN IRELAND/UK A new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) is among the green measures introduced by the 2025 UK Autumn Budget, announced this week. The new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars will come into effect from April 2028 at a rate of 3p per mile for battery electric vehicles and 1.5p per mile for plug-in hybrid cars (according to Para 3.6 of the Office for Budget Responsibility - Economic and fiscal outlook, November 2025): “The average driver of a battery electric car in 2028-29 driving 8,500 miles is therefore expected to be charged £255 in this year. This is roughly equivalent to half the rate of fuel duty tax paid per mile by drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles”. The UK Government has also announced a set of measures designed to increase the incentive to purchase electric vehicles, including an increase to the ‘expensive car supplement’ (ECS) threshold for battery electric cars, from £40,000 to £50,000 in April 2026, costing £0.5 billion in 2030-31. The ECS is an additional VED charge which is spread over five years, commencing a year after the vehicle is first registered, totalling £2,370 for a car purchased in 2025-26. The Government has also expanded the electric car grant between 2025-26 and 2029-30 at an average cost of £0.3 billion in these years. Other measures reportedly include an increase in the electric car grant launched in July 2025, and a 10-year 100 percent business-rates relief for eligible EV charge points.  Find more analysis, interpretation and informed, reliable commentary on the 2025 UK Autumn Budget from the Chartered Accountants Ireland tax team. EUROPE MEPs adopt 2026 EU budget MEPs have adopted the 2026 EU budget, signing into law more than €372.7 million for key priorities such as energy and transport infrastructure, humanitarian aid, and civil protection. The focus of the budget is reportedly on competitiveness, research and security, and support for cross-border infrastructure, border management, climate action and foreign policy. Among other measures, MEPs increased funding for Horizon Europe by €20 million and for transport and energy networks by €23.5 million. EU deforestation law delayed MEPs have voted to simplify the EU’s deforestation law, which was adopted in 2023 to ensure products sold in the EU are not sourced from deforested land. Large operators and traders will now have until 30 December 2026, and micro- and small enterprises from 30 June 2027, to comply with the new rules. Although the additional time is reportedly intended to “guarantee a smooth transition and to allow the implementation of measures to strengthen the IT system that operators, traders and their representatives use to make electronic due diligence statements”, businesses like Nestle, Ferraro and Tony’s Chocolonely have criticised the delay, citing, among other things the acceleration of climate change impacts and the undermining of trust in Europe’s regulatory commitments. Parliament will now start negotiations with Member States on the final shape of the law, which has to be endorsed by both Parliament and the Council and published in the EU Official Journal before the end of 2025, for the one-year delay to enter into force. WORLD COP30  –  “a deal to protect the process” COP is over for another year, notably without agreement on a unified roadmap to phase down fossil fuel use. While reaction has been mixed to the outcomes of the global climate summit held in Belém, Brazil, there have been positive responses to several measures agreed during the two-week event, notably the announcement of ‘informal roadmaps’ and maintained momentum.  Commenting, former President Mary Robinson described it as “a deal to protect the process [of the COPs]”, and paid particular tribute to the growth of investment in clean energy, the launch of a Global Implementation Accelerator, the Gender Action Plan, and an improved just transition mechanism. COP31 will take place next year in Turkey. Business & Biodiversity Benchmark The Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) and PwC Netherlands have reportedly published a Business & Biodiversity Benchmark examining 30 European companies across the food and beverage, extractives and pharmaceuticals sectors. The report found that “while awareness of biodiversity has grown substantially among European companies, integrating it into business strategy and measurable targets remains limited”, despite the materiality of biodiversity to companies in sectors. ARTICLES Doubling down on DEI to drive business in a volatile world (Briefly from Accountancy Ireland) Court Blocks California’s Climate-Risk Law as Emissions Rule Moves Forward (ESG news) Private firms still lag listed companies for female board members (Irish Independent)   JOBS Financial Services - Climate Change and Sustainability Services - Senior Consultant (EY) Sustainability Associate Director (GT) Sustainability Manager (GT) RESOURCES CA ANZ launches Sustainability Playbook Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) have released its Sustainability Playbook, a practical guide designed to help accounting and finance professionals build the skills and confidence needed to navigate one of the most significant transformations in corporate reporting in decades. In addition to actionable strategies to build capability, structure finance teams, and prepare for sustainable accounting and audit practices, the playbook also spotlights real-world examples of sustainability in action, showing how accountants are helping organisations manage climate risk, unlock strategic opportunities and create long-term value. EVENT EY, Four Futures: Exploring Climate Scenarios This immersive workshop invites people to step into the year 2055 and explore four distinct climate scenarios—Business As Usual, Transform, Constrain, and Collapse. Enhanced by the CCaSS team, this updated iteration incorporates the latest insights on climate impacts in Ireland. Participants will dive deeper into key drivers of climate change and examine how Business As Usual and Transform scenarios affect society, business, and the economy. EY Offices, Harcourt Street, Dublin, D02 YA40, Friday 28 November – Friday 5 December 2025 Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), Online Summit This year’s Summit will equip participants with ways to advance net zero, nature positive and just transition strategies in the face of a shifting global landscape. Sessions will explore the latest developments in sustainability accounting, reporting and transition planning, AI and advanced analytics and integrating nature into finance, offering practical tools and examples to embed sustainability into financial decision-making processes Virtual, 1-4 December. Dublin Chamber, The Sustainability Academy: Making It Work Inside Your Organisation This half-day workshop is designed for people working behind the scenes — in finance, operations, HR and other internal roles, those who play a key part in shaping how their organisation runs day to day. It focuses on how sustainability can be built into internal systems and processes in a way that supports both people and performance. In person, 4 Dec 9am - 1pm, Dublin Chamber, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2 D02 F9O2 Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, Event to Help Employers Apply Reasonable Adjustments This in-person event will help employers create inclusive workplaces for people with disabilities by demonstrating how reasonable adjustments can and should be applied. Hear from employers A&O Shearman and Belfast City Council on effective approaches, and learn about support services and programmes from disability sector representatives and government departments. Girdwood Community Hub, Belfast, Thursday 11 December 2025, 9:30am – 1:00pm | Cost: Free Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business - Lancaster University,  SMEs - Learning about Nature and Biodiversity This is the first in a series of three free webinars from the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business aimed at SMEs curious about nature and biodiversity links to business activity. This session provides a natural science introduction to ecosystems and explains how these aspects impact business operations, with examples from different sectors. Virtual, Thursday 15 January 2026, 8:00am – 9:00am | 4.00pm – 5.00pm Dublin Chamber, The Sustainability Academy: Green Public Procurement Training Join us on Wednesday the 4th of February for Half-day virtual workshop on Green Public Procurement as part of Sustainable Academy, sponsored by AIB. All companies now need to learn the green public procurement rules to bid and win new contracts with the public sector. Virtual,  Wed 4th Feb 2026 | 9am - 12.30pm. Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business - Lancaster University, Starting Your Journey with Tools and Frameworks Second in the series, this webinar explores tools and frameworks that support decision-making for nature and biodiversity, including the Natural Capital Protocol and TNFD. Learn how these approaches help businesses identify relevant priorities and communicate outcomes effectively. Virtual, Thursday 12 February 2026, 8:00am – 9: 00am | 4.00pm – 5.00pm Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business - Lancaster University, What Does ‘Good’ Look Like in Corporate Reporting? The final session in the Pentland Centre’s free webinar series for SMEs explores what effective reporting on nature and biodiversity looks like. Drawing on global examples, this webinar highlights best practices and practical approaches for integrating nature and biodiversity into corporate reporting. Virtual, Thursday 12 March 2026, 8:00am – 9:00am | 4.00pm – 5.00pm Sustainability Centre You can find information, guidance and supports to understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.  

Today’s Autumn Budget and the second for Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, as predicted, featured tax rises, £26 billion in total to be exact (down slightly from £32 billion in the last Budget), which appear to be mostly financing additional spending and providing additional fiscal headroom. According to the Chancellor, the Budget will build ‘fiscal headroom’ of almost £22 billion, up from £9.9 billion after last year’s Budget. The rises come on the back of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s downgraded productivity forecast, which had been published online early by mistake and saw Parliamentarians poring over the document on their phones as they sat in the House of Commons chamber before the Chancellor stood up to speak. Disappointingly, the only mitigation that has been announced to the controversial changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief is that the £1 million allowance will be transferable between spouses and civil partners, albeit that this was among our recommendations on this issue made here, here and most recently in our evidence submission to the House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee inquiry into draft Finance Bill 2025/26. This, and a range of other mitigations, were also highlighted by the Institute’s UK Tax Manager, Leontia Doran, in last month’s oral evidence session to that Committee. Whilst this is a welcome mitigation, it does not go far enough to ensure the changes are targeted at wealthier farms and businesses. Further, there have been none transitional measures announced to protect older farmers in particular. The Institute will continue to call for a special derogation from these changes for Northern Ireland. You can read our full reaction to the Budget in our Press Release. Buried in the Budget publications was also the news that in 2026/27 there will be no late submission penalties for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax quarterly updates. The Institute has been continually calling for the Government to announce a soft landing for MTD and did so as recently as last month in our Pre-Budget submission and in a letter in September to HMRC’s new CEO. Also hidden on page 110 of the Budget Red Book was the news that the Government will not regulate tax advisers. What this precisely means is not yet clear, however this a welcome confirmation that our members are not facing dual regulation which we recommended in our response to the consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market – strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ in 2024. On the personal taxes side, several thresholds will continue to be frozen until 5 April 2031, and, commencing from April 2026, there will be an increase to the income tax rates for dividends of 2 percent for both the basic and higher rate, followed by a 2 percent increase for all rate bands for property and savings income from April 2027. This will apply in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. On the business front, e-invoicing will be mandatory for business from April 2029. There are also proposals to require income tax Self-Assessment taxpayers with PAYE income to pay more of their tax liability in-year via PAYE from April 2029. The Northern Ireland Executive will receive an additional £240 million resource funding and £130 million capital funding through the operation of the Barnett formula. The Government also announced the proposed sector, geography, and co-investment for the Northern Ireland Enhanced Investment Zone. And to boost trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, £16.55 million will be provided over three years from 2026/27 to “create a ‘one stop shop’ support service that will help businesses navigate the Windsor Framework, unlock opportunities for trading across the UK internal market, and enable businesses based in Northern Ireland to take advantage of their access to UK and EU markets”. The Institute will continue its campaign for a lower rate of corporation tax for Northern Ireland and last week wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury ahead of the Budget on this issue. The analysis herein is based on the publications of HMRC and HM Treasury. More detail on the key tax announcements features in the remainder of this newsletter and will continue in next Monday’s edition of Chartered Accountants Tax News.

It was again confirmed that there will not be any increases in the basic, higher, or additional thresholds for income tax, or the rates of employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs). However, the freeze on certain personal tax thresholds will now continue to 2031 and the rates of income tax will increase by 2 percent for property, savings, and dividend income, commencing for dividend income received from April 2026. The deep freeze continues…. The expected continued freeze on personal tax thresholds was confirmed. The income tax thresholds and the equivalent NICs thresholds for employees and self-employed individuals will stay at their current levels for a further three years until 5 April 2031. The inheritance tax nil rate bands are also frozen for a further year to the same date. The £5,000 secondary NICs threshold for employers will also be frozen until 5 April 2031 after dropping from £9,100 from 6 April 2025. Property, savings, and dividend income From 6 April 2026, the basic rate of tax for dividend income will increase from 8.75 percent to 10.75 percent, and the higher rate will increase from 33.75 percent to 35.75 percent. There will be no change to the dividend additional rate which will remain at 39.35 percent. For both property income and savings income, the 2 percent increases will take effect from 6 April 2027.The property basic rate will be 22 percent, the higher rate will be 42 percent, and the additional rate will be 47 percent. The tax rates on savings income will also increase by 2 percent points across all bands from 6 April 2027. These increases are likely to act as a disincentive to investment, and for property income will most likely be passed on by landlords to their tenants via higher rents. Earlier self-assessment payments From April 2029, Self-Assessment (SA) taxpayers with PAYE income will be required to pay more of their SA liability in-year via PAYE. The Government will publish a consultation in early 2026 on delivering this change, and also on timelier tax payment for those with only SA income. This changes comes as a surprise given discussions in the last few years in the context of Making Tax Digital that the Government was not seeking to target earlier payments of SA tax.

A soft landing for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax, no changes to corporation tax rates, e-invoicing from 2029, more timely payments of VAT and PAYE, and a pensions salary sacrifice cap were the main features with some minor changes to capital allowances. MTD for income tax As lobbied for by the Institute, the Government announced a soft landing for MTD for income tax. Late submission penalties for quarterly updates will not apply during the 2026/27 tax year. However, from 6 April 2027 the new penalty regime will apply for late submission and late payments for all taxpayers. The penalties due for late payment of income tax self-assessment and VAT will increase from 1 April 2027. These changes will be legislated for via secondary legislation. E-invoicing from 2029 From April 2029, all VAT invoices will need to be issued in a specified electronic format. The Government will work with stakeholders to develop an implementation roadmap to be published at Budget 2026. The decision to mandate from April 2029 follows the announcement on e-invoicing in Ireland’s most recent Budget when, on 8 October 2025 after Minister Donohoe’s Budget Speech announcement, Revenue’s paper “Implementation of eInvoicing in Ireland” was published. VAT and PAYE A consultation will be published in early 2026 to consider ways that VAT and PAYE liabilities can be paid promptly without the taxpayer falling behind on payments, including requiring more tax payments by direct debit. Pensions salary sacrifice cap From 6 April 2029, both employer and employee NICs will apply on pension contributions above £2,000 per annum made via salary sacrifice. These changes will be legislated for through primary and secondary legislation which will be introduced in due course. At present, what exactly will be classed as salary sacrifice requires clarification. However again, this is another change which will disincentivise saving for retirement and reduce the attractiveness of employer contributions. Capital allowances From April 2026, the rate of writing down allowances in the main pool will be reduced from 18 percent to 14 percent. However, from 1 January 2026 a new first-year allowance (FYA) of 40 percent will be available for main‑rate assets. Cars, second-hand assets and assets for leasing overseas will not be eligible. The benefit this new FYA will have remains to be seen given that 100 relief is already available for all main pool expenditure via the annual investment allowance limit of £1 million and with unlimited 100 percent relief available for new main pool expenditure via full expensing.