Autumn budget 2025 – five key announcements for solicitors and firms

Limited liability partnerships tax dropped

The chancellor has listened to our members’ concerns and will not impose a damaging tax on limited liability partnerships (LLP).

There was speculation in the media that the chancellor may use the autumn budget on 26 November to expand national insurance on those employed through LLPs.

This tax would have penalised LLP law firms and was unlikely to raise anything near the sums predicted.

Our president, Mark Evans, commented: “The legal sector is already contending with major regulatory changes in anti-money laundering and compliance.

“Any additional burdens would have created a perfect storm on firms’ ability to invest, hire, and contribute to growth, which could prove damaging to the wider economy.”

We brought together leaders of the UK's professional services sector to urge the chancellor to reconsider the LLP tax proposals.

We are pleased to see our lobbying efforts were successful and the chancellor not gone ahead with the proposed measure.

Mandatory tax registration potentially scrapped

The government has decided against regulating tax advisers.

Instead, it has said it will work with the sector to raise standards.

However, budget papers still mention mandatory registration.

We have asked HMRC to clarify whether they still intend to introduce this measure.

Economic crime levy rates increase

The chancellor announced that the Economic Crime (Anti Money Laundering) Levy rates will increase for firms with UK revenues above £500m from 1 April 2026.

The former band covering businesses with annual UK revenues between £36m and £1bn will now be split into two:

• Band C – £36m to £500m
• Band D – £500m to £1bn

Firms in the new Band C will face a significant jump in the levy.

We are disappointed to see increases in the levy a number of our members will pay.

The changes are due to come into effect in April next year, which also gives firms little time to plan and prepare.

We have called for the government to provide more clarity on:

• the evidence it used to decide on the new banding
• why it deemed these changes are proportionate and fair
• which initiatives the levy will fund

We also want the government to ensure significant increases are avoided in the future.

We will conduct further analysis and speak to affected firms to assess what impact the levy changes may have.

Learn more about the changes to levy bands and charges.

Apprenticeships and training funding expanded

The government has expanded funding for apprenticeships, with support aimed at young people and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

A series of reforms will be introduced from 2026 to:

• simplify the apprenticeship system
• shorten funding expiry periods, and
• streamline available standards

It is not clear how these new reforms will affect changes already announced to level 7 apprenticeships funding.

We are seeking clarification from the relevant government departments and will share information when we have it.

Other training announcements include:

• a new Youth Guarantee, offering eligible young people on Universal Credit the opportunity to complete a six-month paid work placement
• new funding packages to support training pipelines and specialist colleges
• short courses will be introduced through the Growth and Skills Levy to make it easier for workers to gain targeted technical skills

These schemes have the potential to help firms employ new, diverse talent.

We will share further details once the schemes have launched.

Justice spending rises (but not enough)

Funding for the justice system will rise gradually from £11.1 billion in 2024–25 to £13.2 billion in 2028–29.

These rises are in line with the government’s recent spending review.

However, more funding is required to deal with extensive court backlogs.

Our president, Mark Evans, commented: “decades of neglect in the court system have resulted in huge court backlogs and chronic staff shortages.

“It is vital that investment is provided to tackle these issues and the government needs to go further and faster so that we have a functioning justice system.”

We will continue lobbying on our members behalf to push the government to provide adequate justice system funding.