KEY TAKEAWAYS - the Autumn Budget 2022
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has just finished delivering his statement on the economy in the House of Commons. He has announced tens of billions in tax rises and spending cuts.
Here are the key announcements:
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has promised to keep Stamp Duty cuts in place until the end of March 2025, but the tax will rise after that date.
“This will create incentives to support the housing market by boosting transactions,” he said.
The Chancellor said he would then “sunset” the cuts so that they are abolished but will be kept under review. He had previously said he would keep the Stamp Duty cuts but had not set a deadline for them.
Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget announced cuts to Stamp Duty with nothing to be paid for the first £250,000 of a property’s value – double the previous amount allowed. The threshold for first-time buyers was also increased from £300,000 to £425,000.
Mortgage Rates
Hunt also told MPs as he announced his Autumn Statement that he planned to keep mortgage rates down and ensure they are “significant lower”. He said that rates were higher in the United States, Canada and New Zealand.
Top rate taxpayers will face higher bills after the threshold for the 45p rate was lowered from £150,000 to £125,140.
Capital gains tax relief allowance halved
From 2023, the Annual Exempt Amount for capital gains tax will be cut from £12,300 to £6,000, and then cut again to £3,000 from April 2024.
“This will be unwelcome news for landlords, second home owners and those looking to sell their property as capital gains tax is applied at a much higher rate for residential property sales," says Jamie Morrison, Head of Tax at HW Fisher.
Dividend allowance will be cut from 2023
The dividend allowance will be cut from £2,000 to £1,000 in 2023, and then drop further to £500 in April 2024.
This will affect any landlords using limited company structures - a growing band of landlords - as they pay themselves and other shareholders dividends from their rental profits.
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