Budget Review

The budget last week did hold a few surprises particularly on pensions, though most of the key points had already been flagged up in the autumn statement last year. I’ll summarise the main changes affecting small businesses below, a more detailed analysis of the budget can be found here

Personal tax

  • Personal allowance increases to £10,500 in 2015/16
  • Class 2 national insurance to be collected through self assessment
  • ISA allowance for cash and shares to be merged into single £15,000 allowance
  • Changes to pension rules to allow greater flexibility on retirement
  • Transferable tax allowance for married couples and civil partnerships

Business tax

  • Vat threshold increases to £81,000
  • Rate relief extended for small businesses
  • Annual investment allowance doubled to £500,000
  • Increase in company car rates
  • SEIS investment scheme for small businesses made permanent