Experts predicted the cost-of-living crisis would ease in 2024 but you’ll need to brace yourself because real wages compared to prices are not expected to return to 2021 rates until 2027 which means there’s still a long way to go.
But is it all doom and gloom?
Well inflation is definitely set to drop so that should mean the items in your shopping trolley cost less, meanwhile the National Living Wage is going up. But what do these changes mean for you?
Here’s a list of the important financial dates for your diary.
March 3 – Rail fare hike. Up 4.9 percent in England while ScotRail fares are set to rise by 8.7 percent from April 2024.
March 6 – Spring Budget. With a general election looming, will the Chancellor pull a rabbit out of the hat? Rumours abound about tax cuts and inheritance tax being scrapped, and he will confirm he’s focusing on growth.
March 23 – Fuel Duty. The extension to cut fuel duty rates ends.
April is a big month for money because it’s the end of the tax year.
April 1 – The national living wage applies to 21 and 22-year-olds for the first time and rises to £11.44 an hour from £10.42. Meanwhile the minimum wage for 18-20-year-olds will increase £1.11 an hour to £8.60 and apprentices can also expect a pay boost to £6.40 an hour, a 21.2% increase.
Council Tax – Maximum permitted rise is 4.99 percent which the majority of councils enforced last year. More of the same this year?
Childcare – Working parents will get 15 hours free for children under two. A first step to the government’s promise of 30 hours from September 2025, for all children from nine months old until they start school.
TV Licence – It’s rising in line with September’s rate of inflation (6.6 percent) which takes the licence fee from £159 to £160.50.
Fuel – this is set to rise with the Retail Price Index but could be frozen closer to the time.
Energy Price Cap – Ofgem’s latest price cap comes in and is expected to fall.
National Insurance – changes for self-employed people with Class 2 NICs axed, saving an average of £186 a year and Class 4 NICs will also be cut from 9 to 8 percent.
Dividend and Capital Gains Tax – the tax-free allowance for Capital Gains that lets people sell assets, such as a second property or shares, will reduce in 2024-2025 from £6,000 to £3,000. The threshold for dividend tax will drop from £1,000 to £500.
However you will be able to pay into multiple ISAs of the same type and transfer slices of ISA money you paid in during the current tax year. Previously it was all or nothing.
The minimum age to open a cash ISA will rise to 18 which closes the loophole that allowed 16 and 17-year-olds to have an ISA and cash ISA allowance in the same tax year.
State Pension – will rise 8.5 percent to keep pace with living costs, taking the full new state pension from £203.85 to £221.20 per week. For those who hit state pension age before 2016, their full weekly basic will rise from £156.20 to £169.50.
Benefits – those receiving working age benefits will see them increased in line with September’s 6.7 percent inflation rate.
Election – Local elections take place and could be an indicator of when this year the general election will be announced.
Banknotes – King Charles is expected to be in our purses and wallets this month as he features on our currency.
Energy Bills – Ofgem’s latest energy price cap comes in and experts at Cornwall Insights are forecasting a fall to £1,880 a year from £1,929 in April.
Payment on Account deadline – self-employed people must make advance payments towards their tax bills or face financial penalties.
Alcohol Duty – It was announced in the autumn statement that the cut in duty, which meant a bottle of wine would be 68 pence cheaper, wouldn’t be lifted before August.
Childcare – the second stage of the roll-out of free childcare to 30 hours.
Energy Bills – The latest energy price cap comes into play but any forecasts this far ahead, especially in our current economic climate, need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
State Pension and Benefits – The latest inflation figures are used for uprating working age benefits.
Self Assessment – This is the deadline to file your paper self-assessment tax return for 2023-24 although it is now easier and quicker to file it online.
