The New Year can be an opportunity to reset. For owner-managed businesses in Northern Ireland, taking control of tax and financial planning now could make the difference between merely surviving the year ahead and emerging from it in a position of strength. Ross Boyd, the founder and director of Belfast-based chartered accountancy firm RBCA shares his expertise with local business owners as 2026 kicks off.
Ross advises, “The New Year is traditionally a time for optimism and so it should be with reducing inflation, reducing interest costs, more clarity on taxes including the pre-Christmas changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) which will benefit many owner-managed businesses in NI. That said, care is still needed. For many business owners in Northern Ireland, 2026 is shaping up to be another year that demands realism, discipline and fiscal agility. Uncertainty over costs and tax pressures means business owners can no longer afford to be reactive. Planning ahead is not optional, but essential.
“The immediate priority for many will be the 31 January self-assessment tax return deadline. This remains a critical moment for directors and self-employed individuals, not just to ensure compliance, but to analytically understand their tax position and cash-flow exposure for the year ahead. The days of tax being an annual administrative chore are gone. The mindset is changing, and many owners now recognise they need an annual tax strategy to navigate an increasingly complex tax landscape. Making Tax Digital in April 2026 with quarterly reporting demonstrates this and needs planning in early 2026.
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“Looking beyond January, businesses must also keep a close eye on the approaching 2025/26 tax year end, which will bring further changes and pressure. Fiscal drag will pull thousands of entrepreneurs, directors and self-employed individuals into higher tax bands, effectively reducing their return despite having to work harder to realise it. Also, with little indication of meaningful tax relief on the horizon, managing timing, structure and remuneration strategies has never been more important. The change to dividend tax rates and increasing benefit in kind charges on company cars in April 2026 mean that your current business model is likely to be sub-optimal and could be improved.
“For owner-managed businesses moving forward into 2026, the challenge is twofold. On one hand, they face increasing external pressures including subdued demand due to a sluggish economy, and a challenging local labour market where the cost of talent often doesn’t directly correlate to competency and experience. On the other, there is a policy environment that offers limited incentives for growth while increasing the compliance burden. Making a reasonable return is getting harder and, in this context, fiscal agility isn’t just essential – it may even become a competitive advantage. Nearshoring and offshoring are increasingly parts of the business solutions being developed alongside advances in technology.
“The APR and BPR changes are important. These reliefs play a significant role in inheritance and succession planning for farming families and business owners. In short, planned inheritance reliefs have been increased from £1m to £2.5m per person. For those directors or business owners involved in succession or estate planning, these changes enhance your existing arrangements and could open up new opportunities for long term financial planning.
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“We regularly advise clients to review business structures, tax planning strategies and investment plans. These changes demonstrate how important it is to keep on top of an increasingly fluid tax landscape. We always advocate business-owners understand where the value lies in their business and take steps to enhance it. It also means recognising that sound advice early in the year is far more valuable than rushed decisions at year end.
“The businesses that will come through 2026 strongest are those that plan carefully and act decisively. They will be the businesses that understand their numbers, engage early with advisers and remain agile enough to adapt as conditions change. 2026 is likely to see much more of the impact of recent budgets and this will create investment opportunities.
“We represent thousands of businesses and many of them went into the Christmas break needing a break from the pressure of running a business in a challenging fiscal environment. The positivity, entrepreneurialism and spirit of our clients always amaze me, and I have no doubt they will deliver again 2026, even against a backdrop of uncertainty and a political class that doesn’t recognise the growth, value and potential owner managed businesses can deliver.”
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