The Autumn Budget 2025 has landed, and while the headlines focus on the broader economy, the devil is, as always, in the detail for professionals in our sector.
Whether you are a specialist surveyor, a structural engineer, or a consultant running a micro-entity, these changes will impact how you manage your practice, your assets, and your retirement planning.
We wanted to cut through the noise and provide a focused update on what this actually means for ISSE members. This isn’t just about the tax you pay today; it represents a shift in how limited companies are taxed and how we must handle administration going forward.
1. The Elephant in the Room: Dividends and Limited Companies
A significant proportion of our membership operates through limited companies. For those extracting profits via dividends, the landscape is shifting from 6 April 2026.
The government is increasing dividend tax rates by 2 percentage points. This will directly reduce the take-home pay of directors who rely on a low-salary/high-dividend model.
- Basic Rate: Rising from 8.75% → 10.75%
- Higher Rate: Rising from 33.75% → 35.75%
- Additional Rate: Remains at 39.35%
The ISSE View: If you run a limited company, your net income is likely to reduce. Now is the time to review your salary/dividend mix. It may also be worth considering whether retaining profits within the company for future investment is a more efficient route than personal extraction.
2. Property Income: Squeezing the Asset Base
We know that many surveyors and engineers hold buy-to-let properties as a way of diversifying income or building a pension pot.
From April 2027, the government will create separate, higher tax rates for property income for individuals:
- Basic Rate: 22%
- Higher Rate: 43%
- Additional Rate: 47%
With the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting mortgage rates to rise to around 5% by 2029, the margins on rental portfolios are tightening. If you rely on property for retirement income, this is a trigger to review your yields.
3. Pensions: A Genuine Planning Opportunity
It wasn’t all bad news. The Budget quietly confirmed some stability and opportunities for those looking to bolster their retirement funds.
- £60,000 Annual Allowance: This remains in place. For members having a strong financial year, maxing this out is a highly tax-efficient way to reduce your corporation tax bill while saving for the future.
- Salary Sacrifice (2029): Looking further ahead, a cap of £2,000 will be introduced on the amount of salary that can be sacrificed for pension contributions before National Insurance applies. However, contributions above this cap still attract full Income Tax relief—you pay the NI.
4. Vehicles: The Cost of Getting to Site
Surveyors and engineers are mobile professionals. Whether you are inspecting a structural defect or surveying a new build, you need to get there. The tax landscape for vehicles is tightening:
- Hybrids & EVs: A new mileage levy (Electric Vehicle Excise Duty, or eVED) is on the horizon for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
- Employee Car Ownership Schemes (ECOS): These will be treated as Benefits in Kind (BiK), effectively closing a tax loophole. Implementation is delayed until 6 April 2030 to allow firms to prepare.
5. Digitalisation: Admin is Changing
HMRC is accelerating its move to digital systems.
- Digital by Default: From Spring 2026, HMRC will send communications digitally by default.
- Real-Time Reporting: From April 2027, there will be mandatory real-time reporting of Benefits in Kind (BiK) via payroll software.
If you are still using manual spreadsheets for your practice accounts, this is your signal to modernise. Cloud-based accounting software is no longer a luxury; it is becoming a compliance necessity.
The ISSE Executive Team
