Published 2 April 2024 by Matthew Coates
The spring budget wasn’t particularly surprising this year, with a majority of the changes leaked in advance. With the country in recession at the time, there was little to expect from the budget that would help families, as focus remains on stabilising the economy and raising the value of the pound. What we did see were some small but much needed changes, with national insurance probably being the most surprising.
National Insurance
Despite the Chancellor cutting national insurance from 12% to 10% in January, an announcement was made to cut it even further from the start of the new tax year in April, reducing it another 2% down to 8%. I’m informed that, combined with the cuts announced in the Autumn Statement, a hard-working family with two earners on the average salary of £35,400 each will be better off by £1,826 per year. There is no change to the amount employers pay.
If you want to know more about how national insurance is calculated, you can read our knowledgebase article on the subject here.
Higher Income Child Benefit
The earnings limit has been increased from £50k to £60k, meaning that if you are claiming child benefit, you will not need to repay any of it until you or your partner earn over £60k.
Not sure what the higher income child benefit is? Read our knowledgebase article here.
National Minimum Wage
The NMW rate for 2024 will be increasing from £10.42 to £11.44. That’s a whopping 10% increase in pay for those earning the top minimum wage. Additionally, the age restriction for those earning national living wage (previously 23 and over) has been reduced to 21 and over. This means that a 21 year old earning £10.18 in March, will be getting £11.44 from April.
Here’s a link to HMRC’s website regarding minimum wage rates for the 2024 year
Statutory Payments
As usual, the rates for statutory payments such as SSP and SMP are being increased as follows:
SSP – £116.75 per week
SMP/SAP Lower Rate/Shared leave/SPP – £184.03 per week
Flexible Working Hours
Employees can now (6 April 24) request flexible working from their first day in a new job. Employers have two months from the request date to consider and provide a response to the flexible working request.
Further information on flexible working rules can be found here.
Unpaid Carers Leave
From 6 April 2024 employees will be entitled to unpaid leave, to give or arrange care for a dependant who has any of the following:
1. A physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months
2. A disability, as defined in the Equality Act 2010
3. Care needs because of old age
Selling a Second Home
Capital Gains Tax rate is being cut from 28% to 24% on residential property gains from April 2024. However, the rate reduction will, in part, be offset by the reduction of the annual allowance from £6,000 to £3,000.
There are of course other announcements in the budget which I haven’t covered here, as I’ve focused on what are the most common interests. If there’s a topic not covered that you need to know more about you can find the chancellor’s budget here. Or, if you feel there’s a topic I haven’t covered that we should be raising awareness of, please let us know here.
