There are a number of income tax changes from April 6th 2019. The biggest and most discussed is the rise in the personal allowance to £12,500. This rise of £650 of tax-free income from last year should save a basic rate taxpayer income tax of up to £130.
Higher rate taxpayers see the higher rate threshold increased by £3,000 from last year. This means a saving of up to £600 in income tax - and up to £860 in income tax when including the rise in the personal allowance.
It's not all good though as there has been a significant increase to the upper earnings limit for national insurance. The primary threshold has risen by around £210 but the upper limit, which is how much of income is subject to the higher 12 percent NIC rate, is around £3,650 higher. A higher rate taxpayer could end up paying up to around £340 extra per year in NIC's compared to last year - reducing the maximum savings from the income tax changes to £520.
Due to the increased personal allowance, the amount that can be transferred to a spouse or partner has also been increased to £1,250, so if you are not using all of your allowance and fit the marriage allowance conditions, there are extra tax savings available.
Student loans can take a hefty chunk out of take home pay so there is relief that for both Plan 1 and Plan 2 loans the thresholds have been increased. Plan one loans get a threshold rise of £600 - saving people up to £54 this year. Plan two loans get a threshold rise of £725 - saving people up to £65 this year.
The calculations start to get complicated, so head on over to any of our tax calculators and tools and see the exact amount you would be paying. For Scottish taxpayers you have five tax bands to contend with, and there are band changes there too - just select the Scottish flag or option choice to get your tax calculations.
There are no changes to dividends, or associated allowances, but the capital gains annual exempt amount has risen by £300 over last year.
Child benefit remains the same as last year as do tax credits aside from a £80 increase to the disabled child, £115 increase to the severely disabled child and £75 increase to the disabled worker elements. Guardians allowance gets a 40 pence per week increase. Universal credit sees the tapering limit increased by £1,000 allowing people to keep up to an extra £630 of their benefit amount before it starts to get reduced.
The national living wage is to be £8.21 an hour, around £15,000 per year. Fuel duty will stay frozen in 2019 for ninth year.
Check out the full tax rates for 2019 and check out the payroll tax calendar for 2019 too.