Budget 2018

Sweeping cuts to alcohol and air passenger duties were announced by Rishi Sunak in today's Autumn Budget 2021, while the Chancellor froze the levy on fuel for the 12th year in a row.

Income tax cuts will be brought in a year earlier than planned and an extra £1 billion spent to help protect those moving onto universal credit, as part of the 2018 Budget unveiled by the Chancellor Philip Hammond.

Most people will pay less income tax from next April after the personal allowance and higher rate tax thresholds were both increased in the Budget – but higher earners will see part of the gain cancelled out by stealth rises to national insurance. 

Stealth changes to national insurance thresholds, which were buried in yesterday's Budget, mean higher rate tax payers won't gain as much as first thought.

Pensions cold-calling will be made illegal this autumn, the Government has confirmed.

The national minimum wage paid to workers aged 25 or over will rise from £7.83/hour to £8.21/hour next April, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced today.

The Royal Mint will produce a 50p coin to mark the UK leaving the European Union, which will be available from spring 2019. 

Universal credit work allowances are to increase by £1,000 a year for working families and those with disabilities, meaning they could have an extra £630 a year in their pockets, the Chancellor revealed today.

First-time buyers in shared ownership homes will pay zero stamp duty on the first £300,000 of any home that costs up to £500,000 with immediate effect, the Chancellor has announced. The change will be retrospective back to the last Budget (22 November 2017).

The minimum amount you can save in Premium Bonds will be cut to £25, and people other than parents and grandparents will be able to gift bonds to children, the Chancellor has announced.