Tax changes from 6 April

The start of the new tax year on 6 April saw new tax and regulatory changes come into effect. 
Here are the headline measures affecting businesses and individuals:

Personal allowance

The income tax personal allowance will rise from £10,000 to £10,600. The personal allowance will continue increasing incrementally until it reaches £11,000 in 2017/18.

Marriage Allowance

From 6 April, spouses and civil partners will be able to transfer up to £1,060 of their personal allowance to their partner. More than 4 million eligible married couples and 15,000 civil partners will be able to save £212 a year.

Savings tax

As announced during Budget 2014, the interest tax on savings up to £5,000 will be abolished. This will mean that from 6 April, people earning less than £15,600 each year will no longer have to pay the 10% tax.

The government estimates that this will remove tax on savings for 1.5 million people.

Tax on inherited pensions

The 55% tax charge on inherited pensions will be abolished meaning that unused pension contributions can be passed to the beneficiary free of tax.

National insurance

National insurance contributions (NICs) for under-21s will no longer be mandatory. Employers hiring care and support workers can claim NIC deductions of up to £2,000.

ISAs

The annual ISA allowance will increase from £15,000 to £15,240 and the threshold for Junior ISAs and child trust funds will rise from £4,000 to £4,080.

Capital gains tax

The CGT annual exemption is rising from £11,000 to £11,100.