Short, current reads on what is actually changing for trade businesses — the CIS anti-fraud rules, nil returns coming back, the dividend and mileage changes, day-one sick pay, and the dates that matter this year.
4 August 2026
Immediate loss of gross payment status, liability for somebody else's lost tax, a 30% penalty that reaches directors, and a five-year bar on reapplying.
Read the article21 July 2026
The obligation removed in 2015 has been reinstated for mainstream contractors, and the penalty for forgetting a quiet month is out of all proportion to the tax involved.
Read the article30 June 2026
The rate that had not moved since 2011/12 went up ten pence. What it is worth on real mileage, and why your bookkeeping software may still be claiming the old figure.
Read the article19 May 2026
10.75% and 35.75% from 6 April 2026, with the additional rate untouched. What it costs on real drawings, and how it moves the sole-trader-versus-company crossover.
Read the article27 April 2026
The lower earnings limit and the waiting days both went. Why removing waiting days is the expensive half, and why short site absences are exactly the wrong shape for it.
Read the article13 April 2026
What qualifies, what does not, why supply-only is standard rated, and how to write a contract for work that might slip past the cliff edge.
Read the article16 March 2026
Two capital allowances changes pulling in opposite directions: a new first-year allowance available to sole traders, and a slower unwind on everything already in the main pool.
Read the article24 February 2026
Who pays, how it is charged, why the rate depends on which local authority you are in, the brownfield half rate, and the exemption that keeps most SME builders out of it.
Read the articleWant the full, evergreen versions?
Browse the guides library2026 was an unusually busy year for anyone running a trade business, and the changes did not arrive together or get reported consistently. The dates that actually matter:
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2026 | New 40% first-year allowance on main-rate plant, open to unincorporated businesses — see the capital allowances article |
| 6 Apr 2026 | CIS anti-fraud: immediate loss of gross payment status, liability for the lost tax and a 30% penalty reaching directors personally — read it |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Nil CIS returns reinstated for mainstream contractors — read it |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Umbrella company PAYE moves to the agency, or to the end client where there is no agency |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Dividend rates up two points to 10.75% and 35.75% — read it |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Mileage 45p → 55p for the first 10,000 business miles — read it |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Day-one statutory sick pay, lower earnings limit removed — read it |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Main-rate writing-down allowance 18% → 14% (1 April for corporation tax) |
| 1 Oct 2026 | Building Safety Levy commences in England, under 10 units exempt — read it |
| 31 Mar 2027 | Energy-saving materials zero rate ends, reverting to 5% — read it |
| Jan 2027 | Unfair dismissal qualifying period falls from two years to six months, with uncapped awards |
Two of these are still worth watching rather than banking. The CIS anti-fraud measures, the 40% first-year allowance, the writing-down cut and the dividend rise all come through Finance Bill 2025-26, and the 55p mileage rate through the Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill. HMRC publishes and operates all of them, and its own rate tables already carry the new figures — but we have not confirmed Royal Assent of either Act, and we would rather tell you which of these you can plan on and which you would want the enacted text for before quoting in correspondence.
Clients hear about changes like these from us directly, with the 'what it means for your jobs' already worked out. That is what a specialist is for.
One short email: what has changed in CIS and construction VAT, the dates coming up, and one number worth checking on your own invoices. No spam, unsubscribe any time.