Philip Hammond delivered his 2017 Autumn Budget on 22 November 2017.   

INCOME TAX: RATES AND ALLOWANCES

The personal allowance will be increased to £11,850 and the basic rate band to £46,350 in 2018-19. The Government has confirmed its commitment to increase the allowance to £12,500 and increase the basic rate band to £50,000 by 2020.

MAKING TAX DIGITAL (MTD)

No business will be required to use MTD until April 2019. From that date, only those with turnover above the VAT threshold (£85,000) will have to use MTD, and then only for VAT obligations. The scope of MTD will not be widened until the system has been shown to work well, and not before April 2020 at the earliest. Businesses, self employed individuals and landlords within MTD will have to keep digital records and update HMRC quarterly.

OTHER RATES AND ALLOWANES

The Capital Gains Tax exemption will be increased to £11,700 from April 2018.

The Pension lifetime allowance will increase to £1,030,000.

The ISA limited for 2018-2019 remains unchanged at £20,000.

NATIONAL INSURANCE

The government will delay the implementation of the NIC reforms by one year as previously announced. Consequently, Class 2 NICs will continue to be payable in 2018/19.

VAT: REGISTRATION AND DEREGISTRATION THRESHOLDS

Until 31 March 2020, the taxable turnover threshold for registration for value added tax (VAT) will remain at £85,000 and the deregistration threshold will stay at £83,000. The government will consult on the design of the VAT threshold.

STAMP DUTY: FIRST TIME BUYERS

From 22 November 2017, first-time buyers paying £300,000 or less will pay no SDLT and on properties costing between £300,000 and £500,000, SDLT will be charged at 5% on the excess over £300,000. SDLT on properties costing in excess of £500,000 will be charged at the normal rates.

LATE SUBMISSION PENALTIES

The Government are to introduce a new points-based system for penalising late or missing tax returns. This announcement follows a series of consultations on late payment and late submission sanctions. Draft legislation is expected in summer 2018, with legislation to be included in a future Finance Bill.