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The Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 left the main rates of income tax, national insurance, corporation tax and VAT unchanged. It did include one change that will affect almost every online seller: from October 2027, Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces will collect the VAT on UK sellers' sales and pay it straight to HMRC.
Below are the changes that affect ecommerce businesses most.
Free guide: Autumn Budget 2026 for ecommerce sellers. Our 15-page PDF covers every Budget change that affects online sellers, with an action checklist for your type of business, key dates and the 2027/28 tax rates.
Marketplaces will collect your VAT from October 2027
From October 2027, Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces will deduct the VAT from UK sellers' sales and pay it straight to HMRC. It applies to every VAT registered seller, and to unregistered sellers with more than £90,000 of sales on one platform.
The total VAT paid doesn't change, but your marketplace payouts will be smaller, because the VAT comes off before you're paid. Some sellers use that cash to pay for stock, even though it only belongs to them until it's paid to HMRC. If you sell mainly through your own website, the change will have little or no effect.
Read our full guide to marketplace VAT from October 2027 for who is caught, a worked example and what to check now.
Selling your business could cost more from 6 April 2027
Business Asset Disposal Relief taxes the gain on selling a qualifying business at 18%, where a higher rate taxpayer would otherwise pay 24%. From 6 April 2027 the lifetime limit falls from £1 million to £500,000.
On a £1 million gain, selling on or after 6 April 2027 means £30,000 more tax than selling before it. If you're already talking to a buyer, speak to us before you agree a timetable.
A new Founders' Relief taxes up to £10 million of gains at 10% from the same date. The conditions are strict, including turnover of at least £10 million and at least 15 full-time staff, so most ecommerce businesses won't qualify.
Paying yourself from your limited company
Corporation tax and dividend tax rates are unchanged, so a small salary plus dividends still works for most directors. The personal allowance and higher rate threshold stay frozen until April 2031.
Tax on savings interest and rental income rises to 24%, 44% and 49% from April 2027. If you keep surplus cash in personal savings accounts or own a rental property, you'll pay more.
Side hustlers and sole traders
The trading allowance triples from £1,000 to £3,000 from 6 April 2027. If you run a side hustle on Vinted, eBay or Etsy and your income is under £3,000, you won't pay tax on it or need to register for self-assessment. Marketplaces already report sellers' details to HMRC, so check where you stand.
Our post on HMRC's rules for side hustlers explains the reporting rules.
Sole traders with turnover over £30,000 join Making Tax Digital for income tax in April 2027. There will be no penalties for late quarterly updates in the first year, but you still need to be set up and filing.
Other changes for online sellers
- Overseas services: from 1 April 2027, all overseas suppliers must charge UK VAT to businesses that aren't VAT registered. Some large platforms already do, but invoices from other overseas freelancers, agencies and software providers could go up by 20%.
- Staff costs: the national living wage rises to £13.21 an hour from 1 April 2027.
- Mileage: the 55p a mile tax-free rate for the first 10,000 miles is now permanent, and the rate above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p from 6 April 2027.
- Equipment: the first-year allowance rises to 50% from 1 January 2027. The £1 million annual investment allowance already covers most sellers' spending in full, so the changes mainly affect cars and spending above that limit.
- HMRC checks: from 1 April 2028, you'll have a legal duty to correct errors in your tax returns once you find them.
- Direct debit: every business will need a direct debit set up for VAT and PAYE by April 2029.
The guide explains each of these in more detail. Download the free guide to read it in full.
Our view
Marketplace VAT collection is the change to plan for. One of its main aims is to tackle VAT non-compliance, including sellers who fail to register for VAT or don't account for it correctly.
We welcome measures that put compliant businesses on a level playing field. Our concern is the cash flow cost for sellers who did nothing wrong, and we'd like HMRC to commit to paying marketplace sellers' refunds quickly.
Download the full guide
Our free 15-page guide covers every Budget change that affects online sellers. It includes a section for each type of business, an action checklist you can tick off, a timeline of key dates and a 2027/28 tax rates table.
If you're a client, your client manager will be in touch where a change affects you. If you're not a client yet and want to know what the Budget means for your business, book a discovery call.
Frequently asked questions
When do marketplaces start collecting VAT for UK sellers?
October 2027. The exact start date and the per-platform threshold for sellers who aren't VAT registered will be confirmed in 2027, with HMRC guidance to follow.
Did the Autumn Budget 2026 change the VAT registration threshold?
No. The registration threshold stays at £90,000 and the deregistration threshold at £88,000. VAT rates are unchanged.
Did dividend tax go up in the Autumn Budget 2026?
No. Dividend tax rates stay at 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35%, with a £500 tax-free dividend allowance. Tax on savings interest and rental income does rise from April 2027.
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