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The Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget 2024 on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. He announced a series of tax cuts and spending plans that aim to boost the UK economy and ease the pressure on households and businesses. Here are some of the key points from the budget and how they may affect you.
The main rate of employees’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) will be reduced from 10% to 8% from April 2024, benefiting around 27 million workers with potential savings of up to £450 per year. The main rate of Class 4 NICs for the self-employed will also drop from 9% to 6% from April 2024, a further reduction after the abolition of Class 2 NICs. This means that the self-employed will pay the same rate of NICs as employees on their profits above the lower profits limit of £9,568.
The higher residential property Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rate will be reduced from 28% to 24% from April 2024. This will apply to gains from the sale of second homes and buy-to-let properties. The basic rate of CGT for residential property will remain at 18%. The annual exempt amount for CGT will also remain at £12,300 for individuals and £6,150 for trusts.
The stamp duty relief for buying multiple homes at once, known as Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR), has been scrapped from June 1, 2024. This means that buyers of more than one property in a single transaction will have to pay higher rates of stamp duty on each property, regardless of whether they are residential or non-residential. The higher rates are 3% on top of the normal rates for properties up to £500,000, 8% for properties between £500,001 and £925,000, 13% for properties between £925,001 and £1.5 million, and 15% for properties above £1.5 million.
The furnished holiday lettings (FHL) regime will be abolished from April 2025. This means that FHLs will no longer be treated as a separate category of property income for tax purposes. Instead, they will be taxed as normal rental income, subject to the same rules and allowances as other landlords. This will affect the eligibility for certain reliefs and deductions, such as capital allowances, loss relief, and CGT rollover relief.
The non-dom tax status will be removed in April 2025. This means that foreign nationals residing in the UK but officially domiciled overseas will no longer be able to avoid paying UK tax on their foreign income or capital gains. Instead, they will be taxed on their worldwide income and gains, regardless of whether they remit them to the UK or not. A more ‘straightforward’ residency-based system will be implemented in 2025, with details to be announced later.
The high-income child benefit charge threshold will be raised from £50,000 to £60,000 and the taper – which applies when an individual’s income increases beyond the threshold of £60,000, meaning they will gradually lose eligibility for child benefit – will extend up to £80,000. No one earning under £60,000 will pay the charge, taking 170,000 families out of paying it altogether. And because of the higher taper and threshold, nearly half a million families with children will save an average of around £1,300 next year.
Businesses can expect full expensing to be extended to include leased assets in the future, with the Chancellor announcing he will publish draft legislation to cover this extension. This will allow businesses to deduct the full cost of leasing certain assets from their taxable profits, rather than spreading the deduction over the lease term. The types of assets that will qualify for full expensing are yet to be confirmed.
The VAT threshold for small businesses has been increased from £85,000 to £90,000 from April 2024. This means that approximately 28,000 small businesses will drop below the threshold for paying VAT. The registration and deregistration thresholds for VAT will be frozen until April 2027.
Fuel Duty has been frozen for an additional 12 months and the 5p cut to petrol taxes that was introduced in 2022 remains in place. This will benefit motorists and businesses that rely on road transport.
The Spring Budget 2024 has introduced a number of tax changes that will have a significant impact on individuals and businesses. Some of the main winners are employees, self-employed, and property sellers, who will benefit from lower NICs and CGT rates. Some of the main losers are property buyers, FHL owners, and non-doms, who will face higher stamp duty, income tax, and CGT liabilities. Businesses will also see some changes to their tax treatment, with some positive measures such as full expensing and higher VAT threshold, and some negative ones such as the removal of MDR and FHL regime.
If you have any questions about how the Spring Budget 2024 affects you or your business, please contact us for expert advice and guidance.
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