A QUICK SUMMARY OF MEASURES IN OCTOBER 2024 BUDGET

This is not a full summary of the budget, just a few bullet points which may be of interest to CRLA members.

Stamp duty:

  • 2% increase to 5% on second homes and investment properties – from 31 October 2024

National insurance

  • Employers’ contributions by 1.2 percentage points to 15% from April 2025
  • The secondary threshold when contributions are due to be reduced from £9,100 to £5,000.

Income tax

  • Personal tax thresholds on income tax and national insurance to increase in line with inflation from 2028-29

Capital gains tax

  • The lower rate will be raised from 10% to 18%,
  • The higher rate will rise from 20% to 24%.
  • No increase on the 24% capital gains rate imposed on second properties.

Inheritance tax

  • Freeze on the threshold for inheritance tax to remain, allowing £325,000 to be inherited tax free
  • Farms throughout the UK will be subject to Inheritance Tax where they exceed £1 million in agricultural value

Minimum wage

  • For over-21s, to increase by 6.7% to £12.21, equivalent to £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker.
  • A single adult rate to be phased in over time to eventually equalise pay for under-21s.

Local Housing Allowance

  • LHA Rates frozen at current levels

Benefits Cap

  • Benefit Cap frozen at current level

Tobacco

  • Taxes will rise by 2% above retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation for the rest of this parliament,
  • Tax on hand-rolling tobacco to increase by 10%.

Vapes

  • A levy to be implemented, to be increased in line with tobacco.

Alcohol

  • Taxes to rise in line with the RPI.
  • Except for a cut in draught duty by 1.7%, 

Fuel duty

  • Freeze to be extended for a year
  • 5p cut introduced in March 2022 to be maintained

Private school fees

  • To be subject to vat from January 2025

Housing

  • The government will:
    • Spend £5bn on housing, including increasing the supply of affordable housing.
    • Reduce right-to-buy discounts, and local governments will retain the earnings from council housing sales to allow them to reinvest.
    • Hire “hundreds of new planning officers” to accelerate housebuilding.
    • Give £1bn to extend Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments

Business taxes

  • Lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses to be introduced from 2026-27.
    • Until then 40% relief on business rates up to a cap of £110,000.
  • Employment allowance will be increased from £5000 to £10,500, reducing national insurance for smaller businesses.
  • Taxes on carried interest, generally paid by private equity managers, will rise from 28% to 32% from april.
  • Oil profits levy will be increased to 38%, and extended.
  • The concept of non-domicile residents will be abolished from April 2025