05: Income tax
Tax allowances, tax credits and national insurance contributions
The absence of the September RPI figure – because of the unusually early Pre-Budget Report – means that details of the tax allowances, the tax credits and the 2008/09 NIC thresholds could not be issued today and are not included in this summary.
Fuel benefit charge
The fuel benefit charge multiplier for employees’ ‘free fuel’ will rise by £2,500 to £16,900 from 6 April 2008. This is the amount used as the basis for calculating the taxable value of fuel provided by an employer for private mileage in a company car.
Self-assessment
The threshold below which taxpayers do not need to make payments on account in January and July each year of their income tax liability will be increased from £500 to £1,000 from 2009/10.
The turnover limit for submission of ‘three-line accounts’ doubles to £30,000 beginning this year and shorter self-employment pages in their tax returns are introduced for businesses with a turnover below the VAT registration threshold.
There will be consultations on how best to collect tax on benefits in kind and expenses through the payroll, as well as on the removal of the £8,500 a year income threshold at which most benefits in kind become taxable.
Offshore funds
The Government issued a discussion paper about the tax treatment of offshore funds, proposing the revision of the categories of distributor and non-distributor funds, as well as a number of other changes.
