| Income tax bands frozen until April 2028 |
| Income tax rates and personal allowances will remain at the same level until at least April 2028 as part of the fiscal drag, resulting in more workers falling into higher tax brackets as wages increase with inflation. Meanwhile, the threshold at which people start paying the top 45p rate of Income tax will be reduced from £150,000 to £125,140. National Insurance and inheritance tax thresholds will also be frozen until April 2028, meaning the amount businesses and individuals pay will increase. |
| The National living wage increase |
| The National Living Wage will be increased from £9.50 an hour for over-23s to £10.42 from April 2023. |
| Pension & benefits |
| Both pensions and benefits will rise in line with inflation, the triple lock is being protected, meaning the full state pension will rise to £10,600 in April 2023. Protection of the triple lock ensures pensions cannot be overtaken by the rate of inflation and cost of living crisis. |
| Capital gains & Dividend allowances |
| Tax-free allowances for dividend and capital gains tax is due to be cut over the next two years. The Dividend allowance will reduce to £1,000, while the Capital Gains Allowance will reduce to £6,000 per year. |
| Business Rates |
| The property values which Business Rates are based upon have been revalued which will increase the rateable value of properties. Targeted support packages worth 13.6 billion over the next five years will help small businesses transition over to these higher rateable values. This means that two thirds of properties won’t pay a penny more – benefiting around 700k businesses |
| Windfall tax |
| The energy industry will have an expanded windfall tax, moving from 25% to 35%. This will be a temporary tax beginning on 01 January 2023 and ending in March 2028. There will also be a 40% tax on profits from older renewable and nuclear electricity. Finally a temporary 45% levy on extraordinary returns from electricity generators will be put in place to raise further money. If you would like to read about all the changes unveiled by the Chancellor, you can read the Government Autumn statement in full here. |