TODAY’S Spring Budget comes with a raft of changes to households – and our tool explains what it all means for you.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his speech to the House of Commons – and it brings both good and bad news.
Jeremy Hunt delivered his speech todayPA
During his speech, Jeremy Hunt announced that parents will get 30 hours of free childcare in a bid to get Brits back to work.
Those with one and two-year-olds will get 30 hours while those looking after three-year-olds will get extra help too.
Mr Hunt also announced:
Millions of households will save £160 after the Energy Price guarantee was extendedCigarette prices will rise after the government hiked tobacco taxDrivers won’t pay more for fuel as duty was frozen and a 5p cut will continue in a huge win for The Sun’s campaign to keep it lowThe lifetime allowance on pensions will be axed and the annual allowance will increaseThe government will give councils £500million to fix potholesMillions of energy customers on prepayment meters will no longer pay moreJeremy Hunt unveiled 12 low-tax investment zones across the countryAlcohol duty on beer in pubs will be cut, saving 11p per pint – but tax on wine and spirits will increaseThe Chancellor confirmed that benefits will rise next monthCorporation tax will rise to 25% next monthThe government will extend free childcare to 30 hours for one and two-year-oldsWorking parents on Universal Credit will get more for childcare and costs covered straight away
Mr Hunt also hiked the hourly rate paid by the government to childcare providers, who have long said the help they get doesn’t cover the costs.
Elsewhere, Mr Hunt has given millions of workers a pension boost by raising the lifetime pension allowance (LTA) in another bid to keep people at work.
This will allow workers to put more money into their pension pot before being taxed.
The lifetime allowance currently stands at £1.07 million, with savers incurring tax after that personal pension pot threshold has been exceeded.
The Chancellor has hiked this to as much as £1.8 million.
As was already confirmed before his Budget, the Chancellor said that the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) cap would continue at £2,500 for another three months.
It was meant to rise to £3,000 a year for households in April but Hunt scrapped those plans today.
This will save the average household around £160, the government said.
Other changes include an increase to cigarettes and booze.
A pack of 20 cigarettes will go up by £1.15 while a 30g of tobacco will jump by £2 thanks to higher rates.
This increase will come into effect at 6pm tonight.
While drinkers will pay more alcohol from August but pub-goers will be in the clear.
Mr Hunt has increased alcohol duty rates in line with inflation but cut the duty charged on draught pints in pubs by 11p.
Plus, drivers will save £3.30 on fuel duty thanks to Mr Hunt extending the fuel duty cut.
If you’re not sure what today’s announcement means for you, we’ve got this handy tool you can use.
Just fill it in and it’ll tell you what to look out for.
How are you impacted by the Budget?
What is the Budget?
The Budget is when the Government outlines its plans for tax hikes, cuts and things like changes to Universal Credit and the minimum wage.
It’s different to the Spending Review, which sets out how much public cash will go towards funding certain departments, devolved governments and services, such as the NHS.
The Budget is read out in the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
It will be Jeremy Hunt’s first Spring Budget as Chancellor.
It will be the first full Budget since last year, following the mini-Budget in September and the Autumn Statement in November.
Mr Hunt has told Tories he will “put meat on the bones” of the PM’s plan to fix the economy.
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