Budget Day 2017 how it unfolded


WHAT DOES THE BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU?

BUDGET MARCH 2017 – key points

Today we saw these new announcements which come into effect from April 2017:

 

  • If your business has been affected business rates revaluation then you will now get some relief
  • If as a self employed business you use the simplified ‘cash basis’ of accounting for VAT then the registration threshold has been increased to £150,000 for 2017/18, and extended to landlords.

These measures have been announced previously but the Chancellor has confirmed that they will be effective from April 2017:

  • The tax-free personal allowance will be £11,500, and the threshold for 40% tax will be £45,000.
  • National Insurance thresholds for employers and employees made consistent at £157 per week.
  • Tax and National Insurance advantages of ‘salary sacrifice’ schemes are withdrawn, apart from arrangements involving pensions, childcare, Cycle to Work and ultra-low emission cars.
  • New £1,000 tax-free allowances for trading and property income apply for 2017/18 tax year.
  • New tax-free childcare arrangements to be introduced on a trial basis and rolled out to all taxpayers over the coming year.
  • Tax advantages of foreign domiciled status will be lost for those resident in the UK for 15 of the last 20 years, and UK property held by a foreign domiciled individual through offshore structures becomes chargeable to Inheritance Tax.
  • ISA investment limit rises from £15,240 to £20,000 per year, of which £4,000 can be in the new ‘lifetime ISA’.
  • Public sector employers become responsible for tax due from individuals working for them through personal service companies and similar arrangements where there is an underlying employment relationship. This has a big impact if you are a contractor working in the public sector.
  • Limit on pension contributions for those who have already made a flexible income drawdown from a money purchase pension scheme will fall from £10,000 per year to £4,000 per year. Limit for those who have not made such a drawdown remains £40,000.
  • Main rate of Corporation Tax falls to 19% from 1 April 2017.
  • Benefit of VAT Flat Rate Scheme almost completely withdrawn for businesses spending less than 2% of their turnover or less than £1,000 per year on goods, excluding capital goods, food, vehicles and fuel. The new rate applicable if your business falls in this category is currently 16.5%
  • Reforms to restrict interest relief and amend the rules for brought forward losses for corporation tax.
  • From 1 June 2017, Insurance Premium Tax rises from 10% to 12%.

New announcements which will be implemented in April 2018:

  • ‘Making Tax Digital’ reforms require businesses and landlords with turnover above the VAT registration threshold (£85,000 for 2017/18) to make quarterly online reports updating their tax position; businesses below the threshold will not be affected until April 2019 (when turnover threshold will be £10,000).
  • Class 4 National Insurance Contributions rate on profits between lower threshold and upper limit (for 2017/18: £8,164 to £45,000) rises from 9% to 10% (and from 10% to 11% in April 2019).
  • Nil rate band for dividend income, introduced at £5,000 for tax year 2016/17, reduced to £2,000 for 2018/19. If you currently receive income by salary and dividend this will impact on personal tax payable which will increase

It was confirmed that from April 2018:

  • Class 2 National Insurance Contributions for self-employed abolished.

 

If your business will be affected by any of the above changes please contact us to discuss further so that we can provide you will specific advice.

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