Tax

From the reintroduction of costly European roaming charges to new rules around car and home insurance - here's a quick breakdown of five key events and changes that are set to impact your finances in early 2022 and, more importantly, what to do about them.

Certain national insurance contributions (NICs) paid by both employed and self-employed workers will rise by 1.25 percentage points from April 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has today announced. Dividend tax rates will also rise by the same amount from the next tax year. The move is in a bid to help fund health and social care costs.

Some 1.3 million people are expected to start paying income tax and a million more will become higher-rate taxpayers by 2026 after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced income tax thresholds are to be frozen after a rise this April. The Government's also freezing the pensions lifetime allowance and the thresholds for capital gains tax and inheritance tax.

People who've overpaid tax and been told they're due refunds have been unable to claim them online due to ongoing technical problems with HM Revenue & Customs' repayment system, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal.

If you're self-employed and have been putting money aside to pay your self-assessment tax bill, this WON'T reduce the amount of universal credit you're entitled to claim, the Government has confirmed.  

HMRC says it's developed new technology which stops fraudsters spoofing its most commonly-used numbers to trick taxpayers into handing over money.

Owners of all but the most carbon-efficient cars will pay more vehicle tax this year, with inflation-linked rises kicking in from Monday 1 April – and van and motorcycle rates are also going up.

Hundreds of thousands of tax returns are filed late each year by people who don't owe any tax, data obtained by MoneySavingExpert.com shows – meaning many risk a fine of at least £100. If you still need to file a return this year, act fast – the deadline for filing your tax return this year is 11.59pm on Thursday 31 January.

If you're one of the millions of taxpayers still to file their online self-assessment tax return, you've two weeks until the deadline. Act NOW to avoid a £100 fine – especially if you're filing for the first time, as it could take up to 10 working days to receive an activation code.

The Government has abandoned plans to scrap 'class 2' national insurance contributions – meaning around three million self-employed workers will lose out on a tax cut of over £150 per year.