Savings
Despite a notable change in policy to encourage pension savings, other aspects remain the same:
- Individual savings accounts limits are unchanged with the annual subscription capped at £20,000 per person.
- The interest allowance remains the same so, as before, an individual with income below £17,570 can receive up to a maximum of £5,000 interest tax free.
Capital gains tax
Currently there is a four year time limit from the date of exchange of contracts to open an enquiry into a chargeable gain. The rules will be changed so that the enquiry window will start from the date of completion.
This measure is effective from 1 April 2023 for companies and 6 April for individuals, trusts and estates.
It will now be necessary to show the disposal of cryptoassets separately on the self-assessment tax return for individuals, trusts and estates. Previously, the gains would appear on the tax return in a miscellaneous category combined with other gains. This is effective for the 2023/24 tax year and onwards.
Making tax digital (MTD)
Already announced, but now confirmed, MTD will become compulsory for landlords and individuals with income greater than £50,000 from April 2026, which represents a delay of two years from the previously published start date. For those with income between £30,000 and £50,000, the date of mandatory registration has been pushed back by three years to April 2027. MTD does not apply to partnerships at present, and no dates of implementation have been announced.
A new penalty regime was introduced for failure to comply with MTD, and this has been delayed in line with the above.
Unfortunately, the introduction of basis period reform, which obliges all non-incorporated businesses to report their trading result for tax purposes to 31 March or 5 April will still apply from the 2023/24 tax year.
National insurance
As anticipated, the lower earnings limit for employees and small profits threshold for the self-employed are unchanged at £533 per month and £11,909 respectively.