Rishi Sunak delivered his Spring Statement on 23rd March, amidst a backdrop of the rising cost of living and the atrocities of the war in Ukraine.
Within his speech, Mr Sunak set out his Tax Plan which aims to “help families with the cost of living, support growth in the economy, and ensure the proceeds of growth are shared fairly”.
The Statement itself was fairly light on specific changes to tax laws, although we anticipate further changes will be announced in the Autumn Budget, following a period of consultation.
Below we set out some changes, together with some aspects that were already known.
The UK personal allowance, tax rates and bands for the tax year 2022/23 were already announced by the Chancellor in the October 2021 Budget.
Read a brief summary of our initial views of the Spring Statement here.
The personal allowance
The personal allowance is currently £12,570 and will be frozen at £12,570 for the tax years to 2025/26.
There is a reduction in the personal allowance for those with ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000. The reduction is £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000. So there is no personal allowance where adjusted net income exceeds £125,140.
Tax bands and rates
The basic rate of tax is 20%. In 2022/23 the band of income taxable at this rate is £37,700 so that the threshold at which the 40% band applies is £50,270 for those who are entitled to the full personal allowance. The bands of tax are also frozen for the tax years to 2025/26.
Individuals pay tax at 45% on their income over £150,000.
Tax on savings income
Savings income is income such as bank and building society interest.
The Savings Allowance applies to savings income and the available allowance in a tax year depends on the individual’s marginal rate of income tax. Broadly, individuals taxed at up to the basic rate of tax have an allowance of £1,000. For higher rate taxpayers the allowance is £500. No allowance is due to additional rate taxpayers.
Some individuals qualify for a 0% starting rate of tax on savings income up to £5,000. However, the rate is not available if taxable non-savings income exceeds £5,000.
Tax on dividends
The first £2,000 of dividends are chargeable to tax at 0% (the Dividend Allowance). For 2022/23 and subsequent tax years the rate at which dividends received above the Dividend Allowance are taxed has increased across all rates by 1.25% to the following rates:
- 8.75% for basic rate taxpayers
- 33.75% for higher rate taxpayers
- 39.35% for additional rate taxpayers.
Dividends within the allowance still count towards an individual’s basic or higher rate band and so may affect the rate of tax paid on dividends above the Dividend Allowance.
To determine which tax band dividends fall into, dividends are treated as the last type of income to be taxed.
Read more about the Spring Statement
David Robinson
As a Tax Partner, I advise clients on all aspects of UK tax, ranging from business taxes, transactions and private client matters, helping to achieve the objectives and aspirations of businesses and their owners.
View my articlesTags: Spring Statement 22
