Scaling Businesses, Tax Advice

New Founders Relief Introduces 10% Capital Gains Tax Rate From 2027

Nov 11, 2026

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The Autumn Budget, delivered on 28th October 2026, introduced a new relief aimed at founders and shareholders of growing businesses. While Capital Gains Tax rates themselves remain unchanged for 2027/28, the reliefs available, and who can access them, are shifting significantly.

For business owners with higher-value companies, particularly those planning an exit in the coming years, these changes are worth understanding now rather than when a sale is already underway.

Capital Gains Tax rates are staying the same across 2026/27 and 2027/28:

Gains for	From 6 Apr 26	From 6 Apr 27
Individuals up to basic rate limit	18%	18%
Individuals above basic rate	24%	24%
Trusts and personal representatives	24%	24%
Business Asset Disposal Relief*	18%	18%
Investors’ Relief*	18%	18%
Founders Relief*	N/A	10%

*Where relief conditions are met.

The annual exempt amount is also unchanged:

Tax year	Individuals	Trustees
2026/27	£3,000	£1,500
2027/28	£3,000	£1,500

What has changed is the lifetime limits attached to these reliefs, and the introduction of an entirely new one.

Relief	From 6 Apr 26	From 6 Apr 27
Business Asset Disposal Relief	£1m	£0.5m
Investors’ Relief	£1m	£1m
Founders Relief	N/A	£10m

Introducing Founders Relief

From 6th April 2027, a new relief called Founders Relief will reduce Capital Gains Tax to 10% on the first £10 million of qualifying gains.

This is a significant lifetime limit, considerably higher than the reduced £500,000 limit now applying to Business Asset Disposal Relief.

However, it comes with specific conditions, including:

The shares must have been held for at least 5 years before disposal.
The company must have generated turnover of at least £10 million in the accounting period prior to the share disposal.

For founders of larger, established businesses, this relief could represent a materially different outcome compared to relying on Business Asset Disposal Relief alone, but only where the qualifying conditions are met.

If you’re planning an exit of your business

With two reliefs now operating differently, Business Asset Disposal Relief with its reduced £500,000 limit, and Founders Relief with its higher £10m limit but stricter conditions, the right approach depends entirely on your individual circumstances.

If you’re a business owner or shareholder considering a sale, it’s worth reviewing:

Whether your shareholding and company turnover meet the Founders Relief conditions.
How the reduced Business Asset Disposal Relief limit affects your position if Founders Relief doesn’t apply.
Your expected timeline for sale, given the 5-year holding requirement.

Stablecoins and Capital Gains Tax

From April 2027, eligible stablecoins will be treated as money for Capital Gains Tax purposes. Stablecoins are a type of crypto asset designed to maintain a stable value, usually by reference to a fiat currency such as the US dollar. If this applies to your personal or business assets, it’s another area worth reviewing ahead of the change.

Exit planning for ambitious entrepreneurs

If you’re thinking about an exit, whether that’s in the next year or the next five. The changes outlined here are just one part of the picture. We’ve put together a more detailed guide on exit planning for growing businesses, covering the key steps to take and when to start.

You can read it here: Exit Planning for Ambitious Entrepreneurs.

The full Budget breakdown

This article covers the headline changes to Capital Gains Tax reliefs, but the Autumn Budget included a wide range of measures relevant to business owners and shareholders.

Download the Autumn Budget 2026 Summary

More from our Autumn Budget 2026 series

The Autumn Budget 2026 introduced several changes that could affect how you manage your business, your investments, and your personal finances.

Here are some of the other updates from our Budget series that may be relevant to you:

Why Business Asset Disposal Relief is being cut in 2027
What the 4% rise in savings income tax means for you
How landlords could be affected by the 4% rental income tax rise

Talk to us about your exit planning

Before you sell an asset such as shares or property, come and speak to us. There may be planning available prior to the sale that could help mitigate your Capital Gains Tax position.

If you’re thinking of exiting your business within the next five years, there are a number of options worth considering. Planning of this kind should start early, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to discuss the options available and the impact of each one.

[email protected] | 01932 485 325 | aspreysuk.com

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