Looking Ahead - Spring Budget 2021

Wednesday 3 March sees the Chancellor deliver his Spring Budget to outline the government’s fiscal plans, with coronavirus support undoubtedly expected to be at the forefront.

Whilst we can’t know for sure at this point, we’ve sought to provide our thoughts on some of the measures we anticipate arising with a view to helping you be aware of potential changes over the coming months:

Stamp Duty

The current Stamp Duty holiday is due to end 31 March 2021 – therefore those currently buying property (or thinking about it) should do all they can to get the transactions completed should this not be extended.

There have been growing calls for an extension given the boost it has provided to the housing market since its inception, especially given fear of what the impact of falling house prices may have on wider economy should that buoyancy subside.

The Treasury has held firm thus far, but there is widespread thinking that the measure could be further extended to provide continued support to the property sector.

Furlough

The Job Retention Scheme is currently due to end in April 2021 - given the current state of lockdown and, as yet, no announcement as to the easing of restrictions there is again growing speculation that this will be extended.

SEISS

As mentioned in our Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) blog last month, we expect further details of the fourth round of grants to be announced as part of the Budget.

Capital Taxes

It has long been rumoured that there will be changes made to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) following the report published in November 2020 by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS).

Recommendations within that report included:

• Increasing the CGT rates to remove the disparity with income tax rates
• Abolishing or reforming some valuable reliefs including Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) formerly known as Entrepreneur’s Relief

Whilst the Government has no obligation to respond to the recommendations made, it may be worth pre-emptive planning where possible should any of the above impact any shorter-term activities.

Personal Tax

On a somewhat separate note and as a reminder, whilst the usual deadline for filing the 2019/20 tax returns has passed (31 January) HMRC have announced that there were be no late filing penalty of £100 if filed by 28 February.

It is worth noting however that any tax owed will still have been due on 31 January as deadline for payment had not been extended – interest will be charged at a rate of 2.6% per annum on any unpaid liabilities from 1 February, so well worth getting the return completed as soon as possible if it hasn’t already been.  

Do look back on our previous Self Assessment blog for more information.

If you have any questions regarding this or anything else please get in touch, and for regular updates, announcements and news please check our website (www.dsaprospect.co.uk) and make sure you’re following our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dsa-prospect-ltd