UK entrepreneurs reshaping financial strategies in anticipation of tax changes

Entrepreneurs in the UK are reshaping their financial strategies in anticipation of expected tax and policy changes, research from Brown Shipley has found.

It showed that changes announced in the Autumn Budget had catalysed a ‘surge’ in activity from business owners.

More than a third (35 per cent) were planning to accelerate profit extraction ahead of the dividend tax rise in April, to bring forward income while rates remained more favourable.

Dividend tax rates are set to increase by 2 percentage points for basic and higher-rate taxpayers from 6 April 2026.

A £2,000 annual cap on salary sacrifice pension contributions from April 2029 was also announced in the Autumn Budget, with 31 per cent of entrepreneurs planning to scale back employee pension provision.

Brown Shipley noted that exit plans were also shifting. A third (33 per cent) of entrepreneurs said they were less likely to use Employee Ownership Trusts following reductions in capital gains tax relief.

This had prompted a reassessment of succession routes that had previously proved popular, the wealth manager said.

Almost a third (29 per cent) of respondents said the 2025 Autumn Budget had improved their confidence in long-term financial planning, while 26 per cent said it had weakened it.

However, entrepreneurs’ confidence in their business as the primary store of wealth had fallen from 48 per cent to 41 per cent over the past year, which Brown Shipley said signalled growing unease about the durability of enterprise-driven wealth.

Alignment between personal goals and business plans had also weakened, from 54 per cent to 48 per cent, and the Quintet Private Bank subsidiary argued this suggested that entrepreneurs were finding it increasingly challenging to balance long-term ambitions with short-term pressures.

Half (50 per cent) of business owners were concerned about the impact of market volatility on their ability to preserve wealth in 2026, compared to 41 per cent of the wider wealthy UK population.

Furthermore, 51 per cent of entrepreneurs expressed concern about the impact of tax changes on their ability to maintain their wealth, compared to 41 per cent of other high net worth individuals.

Despite the increased levels of caution and weakening sentiment, Brown Shipley highlighted that many entrepreneurs were taking decisive action by reshaping their financial strategies to stay resilient amid rising uncertainty and a tightening tax regime.

“Entrepreneurs are reading the signals early,” commented Brown Shipley head of north region, Katrina Johnson.

“We are seeing a cohort that is not waiting for tax changes to take effect – they are already adapting how they extract profits, structure benefits and plan exits.

“Confidence has clearly softened, and heightened concern around volatility and tax risk is driving a much more proactive mindset.

“These business owners are reshaping their financial architecture now to stay agile in what they expect will be a more demanding and less predictable environment.”

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