Your local Colchester Solicitors, John Fowlers, shares a round up of key points made during the Autumn Budget 2018.
This week Philip Hammond delivered his third budget as chancellor. Here is a summery and some of the key points to take away from his 72-minute speech concerning personal finances, housing, and pensions to name a few.
Tax & Wages
- The higher-rate Threshold will increase to £50,000 next year.
- The rates are proposed to increase annually by CPI inflation.
- The personal allowance will increase to £12,500 from April 2019. A year earlier than planned.
- The government will reform the off-payroll working rules (known as IR35) for the private sector from April 2019.
- Starting from April 2019, the National Living Wage will increase to £8.21 an hour.
Pensions
- The lifetime allowance will increase by CPI to £1,055,000 from April 2019.
- There was no changes to the annual allowance, tapered annual allowance or money purchase annual allowance.
Housing
- All first-time buyers purchasing shared equity homes of up to £500,000 will be eligible for first-time buyers' relief.
- The ISA allowance is held at £20,000.
- The annual allowance for Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds for 2019/20 will be increased in line with CPI to £4,368.
- First-time buyers relief in England and Northern Ireland so that all qualifying shared ownership property purchasers can benefit, whether or not the purchaser elects to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on the market value of the property.
- The Help-To-Buy scheme will be extended by two years and now end in 2023.
- 650,000 more homes to potentially be built with extra £500m for the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
Business & Digital
- From April 2020, there will be a new 2% Digital Services Tax on the revenues of big technology companies.
- Wages growth at its highest in nearly a decade.
- Annual investment allowance to be increased from £200,000 to £1m for two years.
Brexit
- £500 million has been set aside for preparations for leaving the EU.
- There will be a commemorative 50p coin to mark the UK's departure from the EU was announced on 29 October 2018.
Health
- Over the next 5 years, there was an extra £20.5bn for the NHS.
- Mental health services will be given a minimum extra £2bn.
- An extra £700m for councils, for care for the elderly and those with disabilities.
- There will be £10m for air ambulances.
Other outcomes:
- A new tax on plastic packaging which does not contain 30% recyclable material will be enforced.
- Beer, spirits and cider tax has been frozen but tobacco tax will continue to rise with inflation plus 2%.
- The 26-30 railcard to be available across the UK by the end of the year.
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