Autumn Budget 2017 Roundup
Financial Adviser at Amicus Wealth
So what did the Chancellor say yesterday?
It was the first Autumn Budget yesterday given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond. We heard straight from the horse’s mouth that, "Getting on the housing ladder is not just a dream of your parent's past, but a reality for your future."
I’ve highlighted the key points below but the stand standout message was aimed at helping first-time buyers onto the property ladder:
- Stamp Duty Holiday
So is he talking waffle or will these new changes really make a difference to those of us striving to buy our first home – I think they just might.
We will see immediate abolition of stamp duty for first time buyers when buying properties of up to £300,000. For properties costing up to £500,000 in London, no stamp duty will be paid on the first £300,000.
For most parts of the country stamp duty costs can be relatively low, though still significant. The starting point for paying stamp duty in England is £125,000 – so for the average first-time buyer purchasing a property costing £200,000, you will save on average £1,600.
For those of us lucky enough to buy in London, with average property prices of about £400,000, your saving on stamp duty can be as much as £5,000. Critics have said that this reduction in stamp duty will just lead to an increase in property prices which will wipe out the stamp duty saving. However, the increase in property price can be absorbed by a mortgage whereas stamp duty tax is hard cash that is needed upfront on top of a deposit so it is still great news.
Despite this a lot of people have still hit back at the Chancellor, demanding that the focus should be on dealing with escalating house prices and tackling the biggest up-front cost - the deposit - not stamp duty.
“Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!” Anything that will help us, young people onto the property ladder is great – though there is probably more that needs to be done.
- Income Tax
The tax-free personal allowance will rise to £11,850 in April 2018, with the Higher-rate tax threshold also increasing to £46,350.
National Living Wage to rise in April from £7.50 an hour to £7.83.
- Capital gains tax
The annual exemption will rise to £11,700 for individuals and £5,850 for trusts in 2018/19.
- ISA Allowance
Your ISA allowance will remain at £20,000 for 2018/19. Junior ISAs will rise in line with CPI to £4,260.
- Pension Increase
The state pension will rise by 3% in April, amounting to and extra £3.65 a week. As will the lifetime allowance for pension savers.
- Young Railway Goers
The young person’s railcard, currently available to under-27s, is to be extended to those aged under-31 (although you can get up to 32 if you're smart about it). This will be called the “millennial card”. This will save you a whopping 3rd off your train tickets.
- Beer Drinkers and Winos
Duty rates on beer, cider, wine and other spirits will be frozen. However, for the White cider lovers you will see an increase in price.
- Road Runners
Bad news for diesel drivers whose vehicles do not meet the latest standards (mostly lorries) will see a tax hike. But fuel duty for both petrol and diesel cars will be frozen.
- Smokey Joes
Those purchasing tobacco products will see an increase in cost by 2% above inflation and hand-rolling tobacco will increase by an additional 1%.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash.
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Written by Rachel Copley, DipFA, M.S.
Rachel is a Financial Adviser at Amicus Wealth.
As a child I always wanted to be a vet. I know my job now couldn’t be further from that but I guess the same principles could apply in that rather than helping animals, I am helping people. I know from a young age that I wanted to do something meaningful.
I graduated from Oxford University with a Masters in Chemistry. Although I loved working in science and looked great in lab glasses, I knew that a career working in research and development was at the time hard to find. A lot of pharmaceutical companies were going through large cut backs and by simply doing the maths this area unfortunately couldn’t offer me the financial benefits I need to do everything I personally aspire do to in life (if anyone has ever owned a horse, you know what I’m talking about). In addition I wanted the freedom and self-fulfilment of building something that was my own.
The financial adviser industry when I started was known for being stuffy, backdated and dominated by 50 year old men. I saw a great opportunity within Amicus Wealth to break this mould and work with like-minded ambitious individuals who want to apply their life skills to their career and in turn advise their clients in the best way they can by using simple language we all understand, uncomplicated by financial jargon and ultimately helping clients draw the parallels between their financial planning, their lifestyle and their personal success and happiness.
Start laying your financial stepping stones by arranging an initial chat or consultation with Rachel. You can contact her on: rachel.copley@amicuswealth.co.uk or 02037276670 / 07533478925.
Amicus Wealth Limited is an appointed representative of Intrinsic Financial Planning Limited and Intrinsic Mortgage Planning Limited, which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England & Wales No. 08861673. You can find out more on the website www.amicuswealth.co.uk.
