Budget 2014 - At a glance

A summary of NEW measures from Budget 2014 and those previously announced in the 2013 Autumn Statement.

Income tax

From 2014/15

  • Personal allowances and rates as previously announced, see Tax Data.

NEW from 2015/16

  • Personal allowance raised to £10,500
  • Basic rate limit £31,785
  • Transferable married couples £1,050 allowance for basic rate taxpayers
  • 0% starting rate for savers up to £5,000 of savings income
  • Starting rate reduced to 0%
  • Consultation on personal allowances for non-residents

Pensions

From 2014/15

  • Planned reduction in annual allowance to £40k and lifetime allowance to £1.25m, see Pensions: tax rules and planning.
  • NEW from 27 March 2014 those retiring with small pensions of up to £30,000 may take the whole as cash (limit raised from £18,000)

From 2015/16

  • NEW pensioners have the choice of taking their pension as cash, or a quarter as cash as a tax-free lump sum, or purchasing an annuity.
Partnership measures

From 2014/15
  • To remove the presumption of self-employment for limited liability partnership (LLP) partners.
  • To counter the manipulation of profit/loss allocations (by both LLPs and other partnerships) to secure tax advantages.
  • To counter tax-motivated disposal of assets through partnerships
  • See Partnerships: new tax rules for 2014/15

Social investment relief

From 2014/15

  • Income tax relief at 30% on investment by individuals into qualifying social enterprises.

Seed investment relief

  • NEW the relief becomes permanent (it was previously to end in 2015).

Corporation tax

  • Main rate falls to 21% in April 2014
  • Main rate falls to 20% in April 2015

Capital allowances

  • NEW the Annual Investment Allowance increases to £500,000 from £250,000 on 1 or 6 April 2014 to 31 December 2015.
  • Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA) from April 2014 time limit for works increases to 36 months and limiting proposals for integral features widened.
  • Low emission vehicles, from 2015/16 extension of the 100% allowance until 2018

Research & development

From 2014/15

  • NEW Increase in R & D payable credit to 14.5% from 11% for loss-making SMEs.
  • See R & D relief

Enterprise Zones

  • 100% Enhanced Capital Allowances available until March 2020.
  • See Enterprise Zones

Theatre tax relief

  • NEW consultation on a new corporation tax relief for theatrical productions and touring theatrical productions.

Employers and employees

From 2014/15

  • Employment allowance: £2,000 allowance on employers NICs designed to help small firms
  • Tax free employment beneficial loans: increase to £10,000
  • RTI: HMRC relax filing requirements for smaller employers until 5 October 2013
  • Employee share schemes: SIP free shares limit increase to £3,600, partnership shares to £1,800
  • Measures to combat PAYE avoidance by use of false self employment for both onshore and offshore intermediaries.
  • Car and van fuel benefit to increase to £21,700 and £581.
  • Car benefit % increase by 2%.
  • Van benefit to £3,090.

2015/16

  • Car and van benefits to rise by inflation
  • Zero emission vans continuation of favourable treatment

Capital Gains Tax

  • NEW From 19 March 2014: amendments to rules to prevent claims for roll-over relief on the reinvestment into an intangible fixed asset.
  • NEW From July 2014 (date of Royal Assent) payment entitlements under the new agricultural subsidy Basic Payment Scheme qualify for roll over relief.
  • Annual exempt amount 2014/15 £11,000 (trustee rate published as £5,550)

Stamp duty

  • NEW Reduction in threshold for 15% rate on the purchase of high value dwellings non-natural persons to £500,000 from £2 million from 20 March 2014.
  • NEW ATED two new bands: from April 2015 £1 million, from April 2016 £500,000

VAT

  • NEW fuel scale charge from 1 May 2014.  
  • Thresholds: registration £81,000, deregistration £79,000.

Tax avoidances schemes

  • Non-domiciled individuals: measures to prevent avoidance in dual contracts, from April 2014.
  • High-risk promoters: further information requirements under DOTAS, from July 2014.
  • Users of failed avoidance schemes: requirement to amend returns, from July 2014.
  • NEW existing DOTAS users, failed tax scheme users and GAAR counteraction targets; HMRC is given the power to request that any disputed tax is paid upfront, applies from July 2014 but will be retrospective and so applies to current cases.

Others

  • NEW 1p off the price of a pint of beer
  • NEW Bingo duty reduced to 10% from 20%
  • NEW increased rate of machine games duty for expensive games from April 2015
  • NEW powers to collect debts of £1,000 or more directly from tax and tax credits bank accounts.
  • Childcare: new scheme from 2015 worth up to £2,000 per year.