21.04.26
Fresh Start, New Rules
The new tax year opened on 6 April with a wave of changes. Here is what reset, what rose, and what you need to know before the new financial year gets away from you.
A NEW TAX YEAR BRINGS DIVIDEND RISES AND FRESH ALLOWANCES, MAKING TAX DIGITAL GOES LIVE, SCHIAPARELLI OPENS AT THE V&A, AND WOMEN LANDSCAPE PAINTERS GET THEIR MOMENT AT THE COURTAULD. YOUR WEEK, DIGESTED BY DURA.
MONEY MATTERS
Your allowances have reset. Use them early.
From 6 April, the 2026/27 tax year is open and your full 20,000 ISA allowance is available again, alongside a fresh 60,000 pension annual allowance and 3,000 capital gains tax exemption. The case for investing your ISA allowance early in the tax year rather than leaving it to March is simple: the longer your money sits inside a tax-efficient wrapper, the longer it compounds free of income tax and capital gains tax. Given that dividend tax rates rose on 6 April and the wrapper is becoming more valuable, not less, there is no good reason to wait.
Dividend tax rises from today
From 6 April, tax on dividends rose by two percentage points for basic and higher rate taxpayers: basic rate moves from 8.75% to 10.75%, higher rate from 33.75% to 35.75%. For anyone holding dividend-paying shares or funds outside an ISA wrapper, this is a meaningful increase in the annual tax bill. The effect is immediate and applies to all dividends received from this week onwards. If you have not already reviewed how much of your portfolio sits outside a tax-efficient structure, this is the prompt to do so.
Making Tax Digital launches for landlords and the self-employed
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax came into force on 6 April for sole traders and landlords with gross income above 50,000. From now, digital record-keeping and quarterly submissions to HMRC via approved software are mandatory, in addition to the annual tax return. The first quarterly report is due by 7 August. HMRC is not providing its own software for this, so if you fall into scope and have not yet set up a compatible system, this is urgent. The penalty regime does not kick in until April 2027, but the submission obligations apply now.
Business property relief changes are live
From 6 April, the 100% inheritance tax relief on business and agricultural property is capped at a combined 2.5 million per person, with 50% relief on value above that. For family businesses and farms, this is a significant shift from the previous position of uncapped 100% relief. Crucially, unused allowance is transferable between spouses, which may open estate planning opportunities. AIM shares now attract only 50% business relief, down from 100%. If you hold AIM shares or have business assets forming part of your estate plan, these changes warrant a fresh conversation with your adviser.
A new tax year is not just an administrative event. It is the best moment of the year to review, reset, and make decisions that compound over time.
CULTURE AND LIFE
Schiaparelli at the V&A: go now before it sells out
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art has been open at the V&A since late March and is already one of the most talked-about exhibitions in London. Over 200 objects span a century of the house, from Elsa Schiaparelli's surrealist collaborations with Salvador Dali in the 1930s through to Daniel Roseberry's contemporary haute couture. The Skeleton dress, the Tears dress, the shoe hat conceived with Dali: the highlights are extraordinary. Running until November, so there is time, but weekend tickets are already selling fast. Weekdays are quieter and considerably cheaper at 28.
Women landscape painters at the Courtauld
The Courtauld is currently running two exhibitions worth combining in a single visit. Seurat and the Sea is the headline, the first UK show dedicated to the pointillist master in nearly three decades. But the companion exhibition, A View of One's Own, makes the trip particularly relevant for a Dura audience: it spotlights landscapes by British women artists from 1760 to 1860, a period when women were largely written out of the canonical history of the genre. Free with Courtauld admission and worth an hour of any art lover's time.
Veronica Ryan at the Whitechapel Gallery
Turner Prize winner Veronica Ryan opened a major career retrospective at the Whitechapel Gallery on 1 April, running until June. Ryan's work recreates everyday commodities, tea, oranges, vanilla pods, as small-scale sculptures that quietly reframe the hidden histories of colonial trade. Over 100 works span her practice across sculpture, textiles and paper, including recently rediscovered pieces from the 1980s. One of the more thoughtful and absorbing shows of the spring. Tickets from 15.
ON THE HORIZON
10 April: Queen Elizabeth II at the King's Gallery
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style opens at the King's Gallery, Buckingham Palace on 10 April and runs until October. The exhibition traces the late Queen's style across all ten decades of her life, from childhood through to her final years, including the crinoline-skirted gown worn for Princess Margaret's wedding in 1960. A rare and intimate look at a life lived almost entirely in public.
18 April: V&A East Museum opens
The most anticipated cultural opening of the year arrives on 18 April in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The V&A East Museum's inaugural exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story, traces 125 years of Black British music from jazz to grime. The permanent Why We Make galleries are free. Worth the journey east, and worth booking ahead for the main exhibition.
30 April: Bank of England rate decision
The MPC meets on 30 April for its next interest rate decision. A hold at 3.75% remains the base case for most economists, though the language of the statement will be closely watched for any shift in tone on inflation, which is expected to rise as the energy price shock from the Iran conflict feeds through into the data over the coming months.
The Dura Society | Women Wealth Well-Being
thedurasociety.com
Inflation Up, Growth Down, Reeves in Washington
March CPI rose to 3.3%, the IMF gave the UK its biggest G7 growth downgrade, and unemployment fell unexpectedly. A week of contradictions, with the Bank of England rate decision just days away.
INFLATION HITS 3.3%, THE IMF DELIVERS THE UK'S BIGGEST G7 DOWNGRADE, UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS AGAINST THE ODDS, AND THE V&A EAST OPENS IN STRATFORD. YOUR WEEK, DIGESTED BY DURA.
MONEY MATTERS
March inflation rises to 3.3%
The ONS published March CPI data on Wednesday, showing inflation rose to 3.3% in the year to March, up from 3.0% in February. It is the first official reading to capture the Iran conflict's impact on energy and fuel costs, and it landed broadly in line with what the Bank of England had signalled to expect. Petrol is now 24.7p a litre more expensive than before the war began, with the average litre sitting at 157p. Some forecasters expect inflation to push above 4% by the autumn as the energy price shock continues to feed through to household bills and business costs. The Bank of England meets on 30 April and this number will sit at the centre of its deliberations.
IMF delivers UK's biggest G7 growth downgrade
At its Spring Meetings in Washington this week, the IMF cut its UK 2026 growth forecast to 0.8%, down from 1.3% in January, the steepest downgrade of any G7 economy. The Fund cited the UK's heavy reliance on imported gas as the key vulnerability, alongside slower Bank of England rate cuts as the inflation outlook deteriorates. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who was in Washington for the meetings, said the UK would beat the forecast if the conflict ends and the Strait of Hormuz reopens, calling de-escalation plainly and directly the best economic policy available. She also criticised the US for having no clear exit plan from the conflict.
Unemployment falls unexpectedly to 4.9%
ONS labour market data published on Tuesday showed the UK unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in the three months to February 2026, down from 5.2% previously, a surprise improvement against the broader economic backdrop. Regular wage growth came in at 3.6%, with public sector pay running at 5.2% due to last year's settlement timing. The bright spot is limited, though: vacancy levels fell to their lowest since 2021, down 65,000 on the year, and payrolled employees continue to decline. The picture is one of a labour market that has not yet broken, but is clearly under strain.
What the 30 April rate decision now means
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets on 30 April with this week's data firmly in hand: inflation at 3.3% and rising, the IMF's grim growth projections, and a labour market that is softening but not collapsing. The base case remains a hold at 3.75%, but the language of the statement will matter enormously. Markets are watching for any signal of a hike later in the year. For anyone with a mortgage, investments in rate-sensitive assets, or pension funds with significant bond exposure, next Thursday is a date worth marking.
Inflation is rising, growth is being revised down, and the rate decision is nine days away. This is a week to be informed, not reactive.
CULTURE AND LIFE
V&A East opens in Stratford
The V&A East Museum opened its doors on Saturday 18 April in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, one of the most significant cultural openings London has seen in years. Its inaugural exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story, traces 125 years of Black British music from jazz and reggae through to grime, with Joan Armatrading's childhood guitar and fashion worn by Little Simz among the highlights. The permanent Why We Make galleries are free. The building itself, designed by O'Donnell + Tuomey, is striking and worth the journey east on its own terms. Book the main exhibition in advance at weekends.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style at the King's Gallery
Opened last week at the King's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, this exhibition traces the late Queen's style across all ten decades of her life through around 200 garments, accessories and personal items. Highlights include designs by Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, her Coronation dress, and the ensemble worn at Princess Margaret's wedding in 1960, alongside never-before-seen design sketches and handwritten correspondence. A rare and intimate exhibition about a life lived almost entirely in the public eye. Tickets from 22, running until October.
Paula Rego: Story Line at Victoria Miro
Paula Rego: Story Line continues at Victoria Miro until 23 May, free entry. The show brings together drawings spanning her entire career, from a sketch of her grandmother made when she was nine to works completed shortly before her death in 2022. Rego told difficult, precise stories about women's lives, and this exhibition offers an intimate window into her process and her thinking. One of the more absorbing shows in London right now, and one that rewards a slow visit.
ON THE HORIZON
30 April: Bank of England rate decision
The MPC meets on 30 April for what is now one of the most consequential rate decisions in years. A hold at 3.75% is expected but is no longer a formality. The accompanying statement and Governor Bailey's press conference will be scrutinised for any shift in the MPC's assessment of whether a hike is needed to contain the second-round effects of the energy price shock.
Hormuz and the diplomatic calendar
France and the UK are co-organising a conference of nations willing to contribute to restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The timing and outcome of that meeting will be material to the energy and inflation outlook for the rest of 2026. Separately, Trump is reported to be considering a visit to Pakistan to push the Iran peace process forward. The next few weeks on the diplomatic front could move markets significantly in either direction.
Last week: Rose Wylie closes at the Royal Academy
If you did not make it to Rose Wylie's landmark survey at the Royal Academy before it closed on Sunday 19 April, it is unfortunately gone now. A reminder to book early for the next show you want to see: Cecily Brown opens at the Serpentine on 27 March and runs until September, and Frida Kahlo arrives at Tate Modern in June for what will be the exhibition of the summer.
The Dura Society | Women Wealth Well-Being
thedurasociety.com