# UK Contractors Assess Autumn Budget Tax Scenarios

A 29 September 2026 article reports advisers’ predictions—not confirmed government policy—for the UK Autumn Budget scheduled for 28 October 2026. Forecast topics include possible IR35 and off-payroll working adjustments, expanded HMRC digital compliance, and changes to dividend, capital gains, or earnings taxation. For procurement teams and contractors, these remain scenarios rather than announced requirements, but potential tax and compliance changes could affect contractor cash flow, engagement administration, and supplier cost assumptions.

- The Budget is scheduled for **28 October 2026 (29 days away)**; the article does not identify a confirmed procurement change or enacted tax measure.
- Contractors and owner-managed businesses can use the forecasts to review tax and cash-flow scenarios ahead of the announcement, without treating predicted changes as mandatory.
- Public-sector buyers and prime contractors may wish to account for potential changes in contractor pricing and engagement administration when assessing supplier assumptions; the source does not specify any required procurement action or implementation timeline.

**Jurisdictions:** international
**Topics:** Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** September 28, 2026

### Government Entities
- UK Government
- His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- Companies House

### Key Quotes
> Recent government consultations around Direct Debit, collection of VAT, and PAYE liabilities, together with wider tax simplification and modernisation initiatives, suggest HMRC’s focus remains on improving compliance through earlier intervention and technology.
> — Carl Bridges, operations director at Caroola Accountancy

> More investment in data matching, digital compliance and targeted enquiries gives the Treasury a way of raising revenue without announcing another headline tax increase.
> — Michael McCullion, founder of Bright Ideas Accountancy

> For contractors, that probably means more incremental changes rather than one headline-grabbing reform.
> — Dan Mepham, boss of SG Accounting

### Sources
- [Autumn Budget 2026: 10 predictions for UK contractors | Contractor UK](https://www.contractoruk.com/news/autumn-budget-2026-predictions-contractors) - Contractor UK