Spring Budget 2024
Jeremy Hunt delivered his last spring budget ahead of the general election this year. As expected from what had been trailed before the budget, due to a general election taking place this year, the focus was on individuals, rather than business. Call me a cynic!
There were actually very few new announcements (even fewer if you discount items trailed). Whilst there were some significant ones, quite a few were sufficiently vague as regards detail and timing that you wonder whether they will actually happen – especially if/when there is a change of Government.
Some of the main announcements
Individuals
- Employee National Insurance contributions (NICs) will be cut to 8% from April 2024 and self-employed Class 4 NICs will be reduced to 6%.
- The Chancellor gleefully stole the Labour Party’s planned abolition of non-dom tax status
- Much needed reform to the high income child benefit charge. The current rules are seen as unfair because they apply based on individual, rather than household, income. From April 2026, therefore, the HICBC will apply on a household basis. In the meantime, from 6 April 2024, the HICBC threshold will be increased from £50,000 to £60,000.
- Individuals who dispose of a residential property which isn’t their main residence currently pay tax on any gain at 28%. From 6 April 2024, this rate is to be reduced to 24%, meaning that it may be better to defer taxable sales.
Businesses
- There was strikingly little for businesses – no reduction in employer NICs and no adjustment to the main corporation tax rate of 25%.
- VAT registration threshold is to increase from £85,000 to £90,000 from 1 April 2024; businesses may feel that this relatively small increase is not sufficient to compensate for the fact that this will be the first increase in seven years.
- Of wider interest, full expensing is to be extended to leased assets. No indication of timing for this but draft legislation will be published for consultation shortly
Property tax
- The furnished holiday lettings rules are to be abolished from April 2025.
- stamp duty land tax multiple dwellings relief is to be abolished for transactions with an effective date on or after 1 June 2024 (subject to transitional provisions).
You can read our full guide here. Jonathan Ford & Co Limited Spring Budget 2024
