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On Wednesday 6th March, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced his Spring Budget.
Here’s how the Spring Budget 2024 will affect you
National Insurance
A tax cut was announced for NI to 8% for the employed and 6% for the self employed. Add in the previous cut from January and you could see some extra change in your take home pay from April 6th. This has caused some controversy given that inflation is a risk and many believe that during a cost of living crisis, we will not really benefit from the cuts.
Child Benefit changes
There has been some campaigning in this area recently because the system is unfair based on individual incomes rather than household incomes. The higher threshold for High Income Child Benefit Charge is changing. It is increasing from £50k to £60k before any is paid back and a declining scale of repayment is being put in place up to £80k. There are plans for this system to change and move to a household income type system by April 2026.
British ISA
There are plans to provide a £5k annual ISA allowance for investments in British equities only. This would take the total annual ISA allowance to £25k tax free.
Debt relief orders
DRO’s freeze your debts and interest payments for a minimum term of 12 months. In order to apply, there is a fee of £90 but this is being abolished from April 6th 2024.
VAT
The threshold at which businesses will have to register for VAT has increased by £5k. This should help to keep more individuals and businesses below the threshold.
Capital Gains Tax
The higher rate of capital gains tax on residential properties will drop from 28% to 24% on April 6th.
British Savings Bonds
NS&I are launching British Savings Bonds which will offer a fixed rate for three years on deposits between £500 to £1 million. This could be an ideal savings option if the rate is good but this will not be in circulation until June at the earliest.
Alcohol and Fuel Duty
These have both been frozen for an additional 12 months. Fuel duty will remain at 52.95p per litre.
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These are some of the “highlights” from the Spring Budget 2024 even though we believe that the announcements were a bit lacklustre. If you want a full breakdown, then visit gov.uk for more information.
If you need advice with your debts and do not know which way to turn, we may be able to help you. Please contact us to speak to one of our expert advisers who will point you in the right direction.
