Budget 2026 for Paisley & Glasgow Businesses | Marsal Accountants

Budget 2026 for small businesses in Paisley, Glasgow & Central Scotland

Budget 2026, on 28 October, did not raise the headline rates of income tax, National Insurance, or VAT. For a business in Paisley or Glasgow, the measures that do change the bill mostly start in 2027. The English business rates package is not one of them.

Marsal Accountants works with sole traders, landlords, and small companies across Central Scotland. The notes below follow the Budget document and the overview of tax legislation and rates. Where Holyrood still has to decide, we say so.

What is not changing this year

Income tax, National Insurance, and VAT rates stay as they are. Scottish income tax bands are a separate decision. The Scottish Parliament sets those. Do not treat a UK Budget line as a promise about the tax on a Paisley salary until the Scottish Budget is published.

For 2026/27 the trading allowance is still £1,000. A side job of £2,500 this year is outside the new, higher allowance. That allowance arrives next year.

Changes that do apply in Scotland

Trading allowance. From 6 April 2027 it rises from £1,000 to £3,000. The Self Assessment reporting threshold for trading income rises to £3,000 at the same time. Someone whose only untaxed income is a small trade under that line may no longer need a return. Someone with rent, a company, or PAYE that already requires a return still files. HMRC’s note sets the date.

Mileage. The 55p rate for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van is now permanent. Above 10,000 miles, the rate moves from 25p to 35p. The government says a person driving 15,000 business miles can see up to £300 more in tax relief from the two changes together. A Glasgow electrician on that sort of mileage should keep the log. The old 25p tail rate is the one that was leaving money on the table.

Wages. From 1 April 2027 the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £13.21 an hour. The 18 to 20 rate is £11.27. The 16 to 17 rate and the apprentice rate are £8.31. The accommodation offset is £11.53 a day. These are UK rates. A cafe in Paisley on today’s £12.71 needs the new figure in the April payroll. The table is on GOV.UK.

Capital allowances. Full expensing stays. The main rate of writing-down allowance falls to 12% from 1 April 2027 for corporation tax, and from 6 April 2027 for income tax. The main rate first-year allowance rises from 40% to 50% for spending on or after 1 January 2027. A company van bought and brought into use in December 2026 is on the old first-year rate. January is the new one. Our view: do not delay a purchase you need this year just to chase 50%, and do not bring a 2027 purchase forward without looking at the thinner writing-down allowance on the pool afterwards.

Savings income. From 6 April 2027 the rates on savings income are 24%, 44%, and 49%. Those rates apply across the UK, including Scotland.

Cash ISA. The cash ISA limit stays at £20,000 from April 2027. Budget 2025 had pointed to a lower cash limit for under-65s. That cut is not going ahead.

Electricity. The temporary 0% VAT rate on qualifying domestic electricity in Great Britain runs on until 1 July 2027. The government expects that to take about £50 off the annual Ofgem price cap in April 2027. That covers households in Scotland. The fuel duty freeze is extended to July 2027.

What does not automatically apply in Paisley

Business rates. The extra relief for pubs, the higher Small Business Rate Relief thresholds (£18,000 and £21,000), and the real-terms freeze are for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties in England. A shop in Paisley pays Scottish non-domestic rates. Those are set by the Scottish Government.

The £100 energy payment. From January 2027 that payment is for households in England in council tax bands A to D. Scotland receives a Barnett share of the funding. Whether that becomes a payment to a household in Glasgow is for Scottish ministers. We would not tell a client to budget on receiving £100.

Property income rates. From 6 April 2027 the property basic, higher, and additional rates announced for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are 24%, 44%, and 49%. The UK government has left Scotland and Wales room to set property income rates themselves. A Glasgow landlord should not redo a 2027 rent forecast on the English percentages until the Scottish Parliament has decided. That is our reading of the legislation note, not a forecast of what Holyrood will do.

What we would diary now

• 1 April 2027: new hourly rates in the payroll.
• Side income: £1,000 allowance until 5 April 2027, then £3,000.
• Mileage: keep a log if you are over 10,000 business miles.
• Equipment: check the purchase date if you expect the 50% first-year allowance.
• Rent: wait for the Scottish decision on property income rates.

Corporation tax for an existing company is unchanged in its headline rate. Payroll is where the April wage rise will show up first. Landlords still file through Self Assessment. Contact us if you want the 2027 figures put against your own numbers.