Here’s my one minute guide to today’s budget…..
The Chancellor had earned the nickname of ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ however his debut Budget performance was peppered with a fair few jokes although when it comes to the pound in your pocket he didn’t plunder the Treasury coffers to dish out much cash…..
While there were announcements regarding funding for social care, the NHS and education here’s what it means for the pound in your pocket.
* You can earn more before paying tax. The ‘personal allowance’ rate, (the chunk of cash you can earn before paying tax), goes up from £11,000 to £11,500 from April. And the limit will go higher still, up to £12,500 by 2020.
* The self employed took a bit of a battering with changes to National Insurance. The main rate of Class 4 National Insurance goes up from 9% to 10% from April 2018 and again to 11% from April 2019. But a small sweetener in that Corporation Tax will fall from 20% down to 17% by 2020.
* Savings rates have been shabby for some time, even to the point of being threadbare in some cases! From April the new NS&I Bond (National Savings & Investments) means you can save up to £3,000 over three years years earning 2.2% interest.
* Small print gets checked out. While it’s not instant cash in your pocket, this one could save you money in the long run; although it’s early days yet. If you’ve ever signed up for a ‘free trial’, not read the (often very lengthy!) terms and conditions, and found you’ve been clobbered with a big bill, this is one issue the Government’s keen to investigate.
* And finally if you feel like you need a drink after that little lot….you won’t pay more on wine or beer. Unlike previous budgets where a few pence went on wine, spirits or beer this time round there’s no increase.