It’s a new year, and with it come lots of changes. We thought we’d give you a quick rundown on some of the changes we are expecting to see this year in order to keep you in the loop!
Changes From January Onwards
- There £2 bus fare cap (for a single journey bus ticket) has been increased to £3. However, some areas may have their own bus fare caps through local authorities and mayors choosing to fund local schemes to keep fares down further
- The latest energy price cap of 1st January 2025 is 1.2% higher than in the previous three months
- Private schools will now pay VAT at 20% on their school fees
- Also, we would like to remind you of some deadlines coming up this month:
-
- The deadline for filing your Self-Assessment tax return for the 2023/24 tax year is Friday 31st January
- The Winter Fuel Payment deadline to help with heating bills is Wednesday 29th January
-
Changes from February Onwards
- Alcohol duty will rise in line with the RPI rate of inflation from September 2024, which is a rate of 2.7%. Alcohol duty rates on draught products below 8.5% ABV will be cut by 1.7%
Changes From April Onwards
- The UK minimum wage will increase to:
-
- £7.55 an hour – for those under 18 or apprentices (Apprentices under 19, or those who are over 19 but in their first year of their apprenticeship will earn £7.55 an hour. Once apprentices reach age 19 or over and are no longer in their first year, they are entitled to the relevant minimum wage for their age group)
- £10.00 an hour – for 18-20 year olds
- £12.21 an hour – for those aged 21 and over
-
- The basic state pension and new state pension will both rise by 4.1% in April due to protection from the Triple Lock.
- Council tax bills in England are expected to rise by up to 5%. This is because local authorities are allowed to raise their core council tax by up to 3% and the adult social care precept (an additional council tax charge which helps pay for adult social care services) by 2%
- Business Asset Disposal Relief will increase from 10% to 14% (before rising again to 18% a year later). Capital Gains Tax is not due to see any further changes as the rates were already increased in October 2024
- The stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers will decrease from £425,000 to £300,000 on 1st April 2025. For non-first-time buyers, the tax-free threshold will drop from £250,000 to £125,000. You can find out more about the changes to stamp duty here
- On 6th April 2025, National Insurance contributions paid by employers will increase from 13.8% to 15% and the threshold when employers start paying this will be lowered from £9,100 to £5,000