If you missed the key points of yesterday’s Autumn Statement or didn’t feel in the right mind frame to take it all in, don’t worry, we’ve condensed all the main points here.
We’ve also included a few useful tips that could help you keep more of your hard-earned cash if you act quickly before some changes come into force.
Energy Price Guarantee and Cost of Living Payments
This particular Scheme will apply to England, Scotland and Wales.
A parallel scheme will be established in Northern Ireland based on the same criteria, offering comparable support but recognising the different market fundamentals.
From 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024, typical household energy bills are capped at £3,000 per year. The present guarantee is capped at £2,500 up to 31st March 2023.
A one-off payment of £900 will be paid to households on means-tested benefits (income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; income-related Employment and Support Allowance; Income Support; Pension Credit; Universal Credit; Child Tax Credit; Working Tax Credit) across the UK in 2023-24.
Pensioner households (those with people over State Pension age) will receive a one-off payment of £300 Pensioner in 2023-24.
A one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to recipients of extra-costs disability benefits across the UK in 2023-24.
Income Tax Allowance, National Insurance and Rate bands
The Personal Tax Allowance, currently set at £12,570, will remain at this level until April 2028.
The Basic Rate Tax Band, presently set at £37,700, will remain at this level until April 2028.
The 45% income tax charge presently applies to income in excess of £150,000. From April 2023 it will apply to income in excess of £125,140.
Once the Individual’s Personal Tax allowance has been exceeded, the balance will then be taxed as follows:
Rest of UK Income Tax Rates 2023-24
Band Rate
Rate
0 to £37,700
20%
£37,701 to £125,140
40%
Over £125,140
45%
It is important to note that the setting of tax rates and thresholds of Non-Savings, Non-Dividend income for Scottish and Welsh resident taxpayers have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales.
National Insurance Thresholds will remain as they are until April 2028.
Quick tips
As an individual taxpayer, you may want any bonus paid before 6th April 2023 if your total income for the 2023/24 tax year is likely between £125,140 and £150,000.
With corporation tax rates set to rise to as high as 25% for accounting periods ending after 31st March 2023, companies may wish to delay paying out the bonus until after that date to maximise corporation tax relief.
If your total income is likely to take you into the higher rate (40% or 41% – Scotland) or additional higher rate brackets (45% or 46% – Scotland) next tax year as opposed to this present tax year, you may want to consider, where possible, delaying paying pension contributions or Gift Aid payments until post 5th April 2023 to maximise tax relief.
It is always worth considering if any action can be taken to ensure individual income is below the £100,000 threshold, as the effective tax rate for the £25,140 above this threshold is 60% (61% in Scotland).
If you have more than one employment, you may pay too much employees’ national insurance. HM Revenue & Customs can request the second employer operate a lower rate to ensure the correct amount is paid. Refunds may be possible if national insurance has been overpaid in earlier years.
Inadvertently, billions of national insurance contributions do not get allocated by the Government to an individual’s state pension records. It is wise to review your state pension records regularly to ensure that your national insurance records are correct and fully updated.
You can go back to 2006 to top up your state pension requirement. From 6th April 2023, you will only be allowed to go back six years to fill the missing gaps in your national insurance records. Each relevant year where the requirement has been met is worth an extra £275 state pension annually.
If you have a child under 12 and register for child benefit, you will automatically receive a parent’s state pension credit each year. If you have a family member who helps you with childcare support and has a gap in their own national insurance records, you may be able to elect to transfer your state pension credit to them. You can claim from 2011/12 tax year onwards
Dividends
The zero rates of tax dividend threshold will fall from £2,000 to £1,000 from 6th April 2023 and then to £500 from 6th April 2024.
There will be no change to the dividend tax rate.
Band
2022/23
2023/24
Dividend ordinary rate
8.75%
8.75%
Dividend upper rate
33.75%
33.75%
Dividend additional rate
39.35%
39.35%
Employment Allowance
The Employment Allowance, which can be set off against the employer’s National Insurance liability, will remain at £5,000 from April 2023.
quick tips
If dividends relate to your own company shares, consider the implications of paying out a dividend before 6th April 2023 to maximise the zero rate on the first £2,000.
Consider whether it may be beneficial transferring some of your shares into your spouse’s/civil partner’s name so that they may also benefit from the zero-dividend tax rate as well. In some circumstances, they may be taxed at a lower rate on any dividend exceeding the zero-rate band.
Inheritance Tax
The tax rates and nil rate band for Inheritance Tax purposes will remain the same until April 2028.
The nil rate at £325,000, and the residence nil rate band (RNRB) at £175,000 (the commencement of the tapering off of the RNRB will remain at £2 million).
Quick Tips
If dividends relate to your own company shares,
Do you know the value of your Estate for Inheritance Tax purposes? Remember, after taking into account reliefs and exemptions, inheritance tax is 40%. With planning, you can potentially mitigate that liability and pass more of your assets over to your loved ones rather than HMRC.
It is possible to reduce the Inheritance Tax charge from 40% down to 36% if, on death, you gift 10% of some or all of your assets to charity. In some cases, this can result in the charity and your remaining beneficiaries receiving more of your assets.
You should review your will whenever there is a change of circumstances to ensure that it reflects your current wishes. That could be marriage, divorce, children or grandkids and inheritance etc. Are you confident that your current will takes account of the many tax legislation changes over the years and is tax efficient?
VAT
The taxable turnover threshold for determining whether a person must register for VAT will remain at £85,000 and the point at which a person can apply to deregister will also remain at £83,000 until 31st March 2026.
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
The current Capital Gains Tax (CGT) annual exempt amount (AEA) is currently set at £12,300 for individuals and personal representatives and £6,150 for most trustees.
For 2023-24, the AEA will be £6,000 for individuals and personal representatives and £3,000 for most trustees.
For 2024-25 and beyond, the AEA will be permanently fixed at £3,000 for individuals and personal representatives and £1,500 for most trustees.
From April 2023 CGT proceeds exceeding £50,000 will have to be reported irrespective of whether there is a taxable gain.
Quick tips
Consider disposing of assets with gain before 6th April 2023 to maximise the present annual exemption limit of £12,300.
If you are going through a separation from your spouse or civil partner, unless this is the tax year you separated, you may, from a tax perspective, want to delay transferring assets between yourselves until after 5th April 2023.
If you are selling a residential property, which is not your main residence, you may have to report the disposal to HM Revenue & Customs within 60 days of the completion date and pay any capital gains tax due at the same time.
National Minimum Wage
Age Group/Status
2022/23 rate per hour
2023/24 rate per hour
Worker 23 years+
£9.50
£10.42
Worker 21 -22
£9.18
£10.18
Worker 18 - 20
£6.83
£7.49
Worker under 18
£4.81
£5.28
Apprentice
£4.81
£5.28
Company Car Tax (CCT), Car Fuel and Van Benefits
The CCT percentages will increase by 1 percentage point each year for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and the Ultra-Low Emissions vehicles (less than 75g CO2 emissions) from the 2025/26 to 2027/28 tax years inclusive.
All other bands will be increased by +1% up to a maximum Appropriate Percentage of 37%.
The car fuel benefit rate for 2023/24 will grow in line with the September consumer price index (CPI).
The van benefit charge for 2023/24 will grow in line with the September CPI.
From April 2025 electric cars owners will have to pay VED.
Quick Tips
Before purchasing or leasing a car, consider whether it is beneficial to do so through the company or personally. We can carry out a company car review to look at the impact on both the company and the individual.
Business Rates (England)
The business rates multiplier will be frozen for 12 months from April 2023.
This will maintain the small business multiplier at 49.9p and the standard multiplier at 51.2p rather than uprating them to 52.9p and 54.2p respectively.
75% business rates discount to businesses occupying eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. This discount will apply for 12 months from 1 April 2023.
There will be a three-year transitional relief measure to cap bill increases for properties at a set percentage each year as a result of increasing rateable values at the 2023 business rates revaluation. This will take effect from 1 April 2023 and run until 31 March 2026.
In the first year, these increases will be capped at 5% for small, 15% for medium and 30% for large properties; these caps will increase in later years of the scheme.
There will also be a three year supporting measure which will cap bill increases at £600 per year for businesses losing eligibility for or seeing reductions in Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rate Relief (RRR) as a result of the 2023 business rates revaluation.
At the Autumn Budget 2021, the government announced the Improvement Relief, which provides 12 months of 100% business rates relief on qualifying improvements to existing properties from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2028. The Chancellor of Exchequer has now changed the start date for this relief to 1 April 2024.
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