The Budget included headline-grabbing tax changes but others were buried in the fine print.
What were they and how might they affect you?
Headlines. Undoubtedly the biggest changes announced in the Autumn Budget were those affecting employers’ NI, pensions and inheritance tax reliefs. We’ll cover these separately in dedicated articles, but here we’re looking at the some of small but no less important changes that you might have missed.
No change for HICBC. The high income child benefit charge (HICBC) has been contentious since it was introduced over ten years ago. One of the main criticisms is that it is inequitable. As its name suggests, the charge, which in effect claws back child benefit payments, is aimed at families with “high income”. The trouble is that it can hit families harder if only one parent has income compared with those where both parents do. In March 2024 the government announced that it would review the HICBC to make it fairer. In the Autumn Budget the Chancellor scrapped the review meaning that some families continue to face higher tax bills compared with those who have more income.
MTD ITSA Update. The Budget contained announcements regarding the rollout of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment (MTD ITSA). The corresponding HMRC guidance has now been updated. What’s the latest position?
The current timetable for mandating into MTD ITSA is as follows:
• April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000; and
• April 2027 for those with income over £30,000
When this was announced, the previous government said it would consult on the position for those with incomes below £30,000 to ensure MTD was suitable. The Autumn Budget confirmed that the threshold will drop to £20,000 by the end of the current parliament (likely 2029), but for now there is no indication of which year this will apply to.
SDLT. There were well publicised changes to the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) rates for the purchase of second and subsequent homes, but one initially slipped under the radar. From 1 April 2025 the higher SDLT rate of 5% will apply to a property costing more than £125,000, compared to the current threshold of £250,000.
The reform of the high income child benefit charge to make it fairer has been scrapped. The cap on capital gains tax relief for business angels and other investors has been slashed by 90%. But ISAs are here to stay, albeit that the annual investment limit is frozen at £20,000 until 2030.