Was the 2017 Budget full of surprises?
Not really, it’s just the same old, same old. The most eye catching changes related to abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers on properties worth £300,000, or the first £300,000 of a property worth up to £500,000.
In our opinion the key points for our clients for the 2018/19 tax year as a result of this week’s Budget, and from measures already announced, are:
Pensions (Good News)
- The pension Lifetime Allowance will rise to £1,030,000
- Annual Allowance unchanged at £40,000
- Tax Relief on personal contributions unchanged (there was some speculation that a flat rate of tax relief was to be introduced)
Income tax
- The personal allowance and higher rate threshold will increase to £11,850 and £46,350
- The dividend allowance will be cut to £2,000 as already announced
- There are no changes to any other income tax bands.
Capital gains tax
- The Capital Gains Tax allowance will increase by £400 to £11,700
Inheritance tax
- As expected, the IHT Nil Rate Band will remain at £325,000 until April 2021
- The Residence Nil Rate Band will increase from £100,000 to £125,000
- In total that will mean that, from April 2018, couples can potentially leave assets up to £900,000 to future generations free of IHT
ISAs
- Annual ISA limits stay at £20,000 per person
As ever, the devil is in the detail and we look forward to studying the outcome of the consultation on simplifying the taxation of trusts. We will be providing updates over the coming days and weeks and in our client reviews. In the meantime if you have any questions on the Budget update please contact us on 01244 347583.
