The key announcements in the 2014 Budget are as follows:
PERSONAL TAXATION
Income Tax
From 6 April 2015, the personal allowance for those born after 5 April 1948 will be increased by £500 from £10,000 to £10,500.
The basic rate limit threshold will be reduced to £31,785 for 2015/16 from £31,865. The personal allowance and basic rate limit will be £42,285, a 1% increase on 2014/15 £41,865 as previously announced in the Autumn statement 2013.
For people born on or before 5 April 1948 there is no increase in the personal allowance, currently £10,500 with a higher allowance of £10,660 for those born before 6 April 1938.
Legislation will be introduced in the Finance Bill 2014 so that a spouse/civil partner can transfer part of their personal allowance to the other spouse/civil partner. For 2015/16 £1,050 of the personal allowance will be transferable from an individual whose income is below the personal allowance or who is liable at the basic rate, dividend ordinary rate or starting rate for savings. The receiving spouse/civil partner is eligible to receive the allowance if they are liable to tax at the basic rate, dividend ordinary rate or starting rate for savings. For 2016/17 the amount transferable will be 10% of the personal allowance.
For 2015-16 the main rates of income tax will remain at the 2014/15 rates - 20% basic rate, 40% higher rate and 45% additional rate.
From 6 April 2015 the starting rate of tax for savings will reduce from 10% to nil. The maximum amount of taxable savings income that can be eligible for the starting rate will also increase from £2,880 to £5,000. When combined with the increase in the personal allowance, this means that savers will not be liable for tax on any interest if their total taxable income is less than £15,500. The eligibility requirements to enable an individual to have their interest paid gross will change to accommodate the new provisions.
ISA
From 1 July 2014 all ISAs will reform in to a simpler New ISA (NISA) with the overall annual subscription limit increasing to £15,000, £4,000 for Junior ISAs. There will be changes so that the full amount subscribed can be in cash and a wider range of securities will be eligible to be included.
Company Car Tax rates 2017/18 and onwards
For 2017/18 and 2018/19 there will be an increase in the appropriate percentage for company cars emitting more than 75g of carbon dioxide per kilometre of two percentage points to a maximum of 37 per cent.
Van Fuel Benefit Charge 2015/16
The van fuel benefit charge will increase by inflation in 2015-16 based on the increase in the September 2014 Retail Price Index (RPI).
Company Car and Van Fuel Benefit Charge 2015/16
The rate of fuel benefit charge for company cars and fuel benefit charge for company vans will also increase in line with inflation (based on RPI) for 2015-16. The increase will be based on the September 2014 RPI figure.
Pensions
Changes to the limits from 27 March 2014 to drawdown, trivial commutation and small pots will affect the benefits to be taken as pension income drawdown and taxed lump sums.
The government has also announced a consultation document to consider proposed changes from April 2015 to allow greater flexibility for withdrawing from pension contribution schemes.
These changes will have a major effect on retirement options and strategies and we will produce a separate article on this in the next month or two. Please speak to us in the meantime.
CAPITAL TAXATION
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme – Capital Gains Reinvestment Relief
Legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2014 to make permanent the capital gains tax (CGT) relief for reinvesting gains in SEIS shares without time limit. The relief will apply to half the qualifying re-invested amount.
BUSINESS TAXATION
Research and development tax relief for small and medium sized companies
From 1 April 2014 the rate of research and development payable tax credit will be increased from 11% to 14.5% for loss making small and medium sized enterprises.
Class 2 National Insurance process simplification for the self-employed
Legislation will be introduced to simplify the administrative process for the self-employed by using Self Assessment to collect Class 2 NICs alongside income tax and Class 4 NICs. The intention is for this to apply from April 2016.
Annual Investment Allowance
The maximum annual amount increases on 1 April 2014 for corporation tax and 6 April 2014 for income tax from £250,000 to £500,000 for the period to 31 December 2015. From 1 January 2016 it will revert back to the original annual maximum of £25,000.
VAT
Registration and deregistration limits
From 1 April 2014, the taxable turnover threshold which determines whether a person/entity must be registered for VAT will increase to £81,000 (currently £79,000).
The deregistration threshold will increase to £79,000 (currently £77,000).
The registration and deregistration threshold for relevant acquisitions from other EU Member States will also be increased to £81,000 (currently £79,000).
Changes to the rules on prompt payment discounts
To bring the UK in line with European law from 1 April 2015 businesses will need to account for VAT on the amount received for a supply. Currently HMRC accept VAT calculated on the prompt payment discount figure even if the discount is not taken. A consultation process will take place to implement the new rules. However, this will apply to telecommunications and broadcasting services where there is no obligation to provide a VAT invoice from 1 May 2014.
EXCISE DUTY
From 6 pm on Thursday 19 March 2014 the following changes will take effect:
Tobacco duty – 2% above the rate of inflation
The following increases are effective from 24 March 2014:
Alcohol duty – inflationary increase on duty for wine and made-wine, and sparkling cider of a strength exceeding 5.5%. The duty rates on beer will decrease by 6% for low strength beer, 2% for the standard rate of beer duty and 0.75% overall for high strength beer. The duty rates on spirits, ordinary cider and perry have been frozen.
The exemption cut-off will change for vehicle excise duty on 1 April 2014 for vehicles registered before 1 January 1974. This will change annually so that vehicles over 40 years old will be exempt from vehicle excise duty.
OTHER DUTIES
There are proposed reductions to bingo duty and a higher machine game duty.
A document containing the tax rates applying for 2014-15 will be available for download from our website downloads page in due course.
Printed tax tables are also being produced and if you would like to receive a copy then please contact us.
Please contact us at Edwin Smith if you would like to discuss any of the measures announced in the 2014 Budget in more detail or to apply any changes to your specific circumstances.This article is for general information only and is not intended to be advice to any specific person. You are recommended to seek competent professional advice before taking or refraining from taking any action on the basis of the contents of this web page.
