The Autumn Budget 2017, what it means for you…
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the 2017 Autumn Budget on Wednesday, and there’s a lot to read about, including abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers, and universal credit. But there was also a lot for business owners to consider. Below we’ve summarised what we think are the main points of focus for our clients…
Personal Allowance – For sole-traders, landlords, and individuals, it is important to know that the tax free personal allowance has increased from £11,500, to £11,850 from April 2018, meaning you could be up to £1,075 a year better off.
Tax Rates – From April 2018, the basic rate (20%) band will be increased to £34,500 so the higher rate (40%) band will only apply to income over £46,350. The additional rate of tax of 45% remains payable on taxable income above £150,000.
National Living Wage – The National Living Wage will increase from April 2018 from £7.50, to £7.83 per hour. Apprentice wage is also confirmed to increase by 0.20p per hour.
Dividend Allowance – Unfortunately, the government have confirmed that the tax free dividend allowance will be reduced from £5,000 to £2000 in the next tax year, however the lower tax rates will stay the same.
Self-Employed NI rates – There were originally plans to abolish Class 2 NICs, however this has been delayed as there are concerns that this will have a negative impact on self-employed individuals with low income who could voluntarily pay Class 2 NICs to get their NI credit. Class 4 NICs were also set to increase for self-employed people, however the good news is that the chancellor has retracted this… So for now no changes for NICs!
VAT – The VAT registration threshold is confirmed to stay at £85,000, and the chancellor has said it will stay at this threshold for the next 2 years.
Corporation Tax rates – The standard Corporation Tax rate is set to stay at 19%. The government have proposed a decreased rate of 17% by 2020.
Improving Research & Development (R&D) Companies – A number of measures have been announced to support business investment in R&D, including:
- an increase in the rate of the R&D expenditure credit which applies to the large company scheme from 11% to 12% where expenditure is incurred on or after 1 January 2018
- a pilot for a new Advanced Clearance service for R&D expenditure credit claims to provide a pre-filing agreement for three years
- a campaign to increase awareness of eligibility for R&D tax credits among SMEs
- working with businesses that develop and use key emerging technologies to ensure that there are no barriers to them claiming R&D tax credits.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion – The government have vowed to crack down on tax avoidance and tax evasion schemes, including VAT avoidance. They predict to collect around £4.8bn in revenue by 2022-23 with the new measures… So if you know you’re a few years behind with your tax affairs, get in touch, before it’s too late! If you come forward to HMRC early without them prompting you, the penalties are a lot less!
If you have any questions relating to the Autumn 2017 budget, give us a call on 01457837744 or 01613395689 to have a chat with one of our friendly team!
The Autumn Budget 2017, what it means for you…
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the 2017 Autumn Budget on Wednesday, and there’s a lot to read about, including abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers, and universal credit. But there was also a lot for business owners to consider. Below we’ve summarised what we think are the main points of focus for our clients…
Personal Allowance – For sole-traders, landlords, and individuals, it is important to know that the tax free personal allowance has increased from £11,500, to £11,850 from April 2018, meaning you could be up to £1,075 a year better off.
Tax Rates – From April 2018, the basic rate (20%) band will be increased to £34,500 so the higher rate (40%) band will only apply to income over £46,350. The additional rate of tax of 45% remains payable on taxable income above £150,000.
National Living Wage – The National Living Wage will increase from April 2018 from £7.50, to £7.83 per hour. Apprentice wage is also confirmed to increase by 0.20p per hour.
Dividend Allowance – Unfortunately, the government have confirmed that the tax free dividend allowance will be reduced from £5,000 to £2000 in the next tax year, however the lower tax rates will stay the same.
Self-Employed NI rates – There were originally plans to abolish Class 2 NICs, however this has been delayed as there are concerns that this will have a negative impact on self-employed individuals with low income who could voluntarily pay Class 2 NICs to get their NI credit. Class 4 NICs were also set to increase for self-employed people, however the good news is that the chancellor has retracted this… So for now no changes for NICs!
VAT – The VAT registration threshold is confirmed to stay at £85,000, and the chancellor has said it will stay at this threshold for the next 2 years.
Corporation Tax rates – The standard Corporation Tax rate is set to stay at 19%. The government have proposed a decreased rate of 17% by 2020.
Improving Research & Development (R&D) Companies – A number of measures have been announced to support business investment in R&D, including:
- an increase in the rate of the R&D expenditure credit which applies to the large company scheme from 11% to 12% where expenditure is incurred on or after 1 January 2018
- a pilot for a new Advanced Clearance service for R&D expenditure credit claims to provide a pre-filing agreement for three years
- a campaign to increase awareness of eligibility for R&D tax credits among SMEs
- working with businesses that develop and use key emerging technologies to ensure that there are no barriers to them claiming R&D tax credits.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion – The government have vowed to crack down on tax avoidance and tax evasion schemes, including VAT avoidance. They predict to collect around £4.8bn in revenue by 2022-23 with the new measures… So if you know you’re a few years behind with your tax affairs, get in touch, before it’s too late! If you come forward to HMRC early without them prompting you, the penalties are a lot less!
If you have any questions relating to the Autumn 2017 budget, give us a call on 01457837744 or 01613395689 to have a chat with one of our friendly team!
The Autumn Budget 2017, what it means for you…
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the 2017 Autumn Budget on Wednesday, and there’s a lot to read about, including abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers, and universal credit. But there was also a lot for business owners to consider. Below we’ve summarised what we think are the main points of focus for our clients…
Personal Allowance – For sole-traders, landlords, and individuals, it is important to know that the tax free personal allowance has increased from £11,500, to £11,850 from April 2018, meaning you could be up to £1,075 a year better off.
Tax Rates – From April 2018, the basic rate (20%) band will be increased to £34,500 so the higher rate (40%) band will only apply to income over £46,350. The additional rate of tax of 45% remains payable on taxable income above £150,000.
National Living Wage – The National Living Wage will increase from April 2018 from £7.50, to £7.83 per hour. Apprentice wage is also confirmed to increase by 0.20p per hour.
Dividend Allowance – Unfortunately, the government have confirmed that the tax free dividend allowance will be reduced from £5,000 to £2000 in the next tax year, however the lower tax rates will stay the same.
Self-Employed NI rates – There were originally plans to abolish Class 2 NICs, however this has been delayed as there are concerns that this will have a negative impact on self-employed individuals with low income who could voluntarily pay Class 2 NICs to get their NI credit. Class 4 NICs were also set to increase for self-employed people, however the good news is that the chancellor has retracted this… So for now no changes for NICs!
VAT – The VAT registration threshold is confirmed to stay at £85,000, and the chancellor has said it will stay at this threshold for the next 2 years.
Corporation Tax rates – The standard Corporation Tax rate is set to stay at 19%. The government have proposed a decreased rate of 17% by 2020.
Improving Research & Development (R&D) Companies – A number of measures have been announced to support business investment in R&D, including:
- an increase in the rate of the R&D expenditure credit which applies to the large company scheme from 11% to 12% where expenditure is incurred on or after 1 January 2018
- a pilot for a new Advanced Clearance service for R&D expenditure credit claims to provide a pre-filing agreement for three years
- a campaign to increase awareness of eligibility for R&D tax credits among SMEs
- working with businesses that develop and use key emerging technologies to ensure that there are no barriers to them claiming R&D tax credits.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion – The government have vowed to crack down on tax avoidance and tax evasion schemes, including VAT avoidance. They predict to collect around £4.8bn in revenue by 2022-23 with the new measures… So if you know you’re a few years behind with your tax affairs, get in touch, before it’s too late! If you come forward to HMRC early without them prompting you, the penalties are a lot less!
If you have any questions relating to the Autumn 2017 budget, give us a call on 01457837744 or 01613395689 to have a chat with one of our friendly team!