UK Finance Bill 2026-27: Legislation Day Publishes Draft Tax Reforms Across 30 Measures

On 13 July 2026 — Legislation Day, or L day — the UK government published draft clauses for Finance Bill 2026-27 together with tax information and impact notes, explanatory notes, and four new consultations. The package gives legislative form to measures announced at Autumn Budget 2025 and Tax Update 2026, spanning corporate tax, indirect tax, anti-avoidance, and HMRC administration.

For UK businesses and advisers, L day is the first chance to scrutinise how policy headlines translate into statute. The technical consultation on draft clauses closes on 7 September 2026, with separate consultation deadlines running to 12 October 2026 on NIC recovery time limits.

Draft legislation introduces the OECD Pillar Two Side-by-Side package for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026, including the Side-by-Side Safe Harbour that switches off UK multinational top-up tax for qualifying US-parented groups while leaving domestic top-up tax and foreign qualified domestic minimum top-up taxes intact.

The Securities Transfer Tax (STT) will replace stamp duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax from 2027 as a single digital, self-assessed tax on share transfers at the existing 0.5% main rate. Reform of the foreign permanent establishment exemption, explicit treatment of UK exploration rights as immovable property from April 2027, and a permanent oil and gas revenue levy replacing the energy profits levy from 2030 also feature.

New consultations opened on simplifying treaty relief from withholding tax on UK-source interest paid overseas, reforming land remediation relief, and the tax treatment of predevelopment costs following the Supreme Court's Orsted decision — each with closing dates between 7 and 21 September 2026.

Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) moves from consultation to draft legislation with commencement from April 2028, following the government's January 2026 consultation outcome. VAT accounting rules for statutory deposit return schemes are slated for autumn 2027, while alcohol duty late-filing penalties reform and soft drinks industry levy changes take effect in 2027 and 2028 respectively.

Air passenger duty on private jets rises from April 2027. Landfill tax loses the stabiliser exemption for dredgings from April 2027, and search and rescue charities gain a vehicle excise duty exemption from the same date.

A consultation outcome confirms reform of customs treatment for low-value imports — relevant alongside the EU €3 per-item customs charge that took effect for Irish consumers importing from Great Britain on 1 July 2026.

HMRC's draft administration package modernises civil information and inspection powers, updates computer records definitions, introduces customer correction notices for inaccurate returns, and requires taxpayers to take corrective action when they discover errors.

Benefits in kind reporting reforms continue toward mandatory payrolling from April 2027. Stablecoins will be treated more like money for tax purposes from April 2027, while cryptoasset loan and liquidity pool disposals become no-gain-no-loss for capital gains tax until economic disposal.

Anti-avoidance measures expand HMRC's publishing details of deliberate defaulters regime and introduce 45% PAYE withholding on informant rewards under the Strengthened Reward Scheme from Royal Assent.

Review draft clauses affecting your sector before 7 September 2026 — ICAEW's Tax Faculty is collating responses by 7 August 2026. Multinationals should model Pillar Two under the Side-by-Side Safe Harbour alongside the US exemption scenario flagged in the 10 July PAC report.

Corporate finance teams planning share transfers or buybacks should read the 106-page STT draft alongside existing stamp duty reliefs. Property developers awaiting predevelopment cost guidance should prepare submissions for the 21 September consultation close.

FinnAccountings tracks Finance Bill measures and filing deadlines across UK and Irish entities — start a free trial to keep compliance calendars aligned as draft legislation moves toward Royal Assent.