 Millions of workers will hand over more cash to the taxman after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced an extended freeze on tax thresholds as part of his Autumn Statement. The freezing of tax brackets is known as a stealth tax as more people are pulled into paying higher tax as wages and prices rise. The Income Tax personal allowance - set at £12,570 - was already frozen for four years to April 2026, but this will now be stretched to April 2028. The 45p threshold for higher rate payers earning above £150,000 has also been reduced to £125,140 - hitting the most wealthy workers. "Those earning £150,000 or more will pay just over £1,200 more a year," said Mr Hunt. You currently pay the basic 20% rate of Income Tax when you earn above £12,570, then 40% on earnings above £50,270 - these have both been frozen. The threshold for when you start to pay National Insurance contributions - also £12,570 - has been frozen for another two years as){kind=link}
Jeremy Hunt has delivered his Autumn Statement in the House of Commons today, with changes to Income Tax, National Insurance and increases to benefits like Universal Credit
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered his Autumn Statement today – with a string of tax rises.
There will be increases to energy bills, Income Tax and National Insurance, and alcohol duty is also set to rise.
But it’s not all bad news, as the Chancellor also unveiled 10.1% increases to things like the state pension and benefits such as Universal Credit.
There will also be more cost of living payments coming next year for people on benefits, the elderly and those on disability benefits.