News: January 2015
Personal allowance and tax bands
The personal allowance for 2015/16 was originally scheduled to increase to £10,500 but it was announced that this will now be £10,600, so the tax free amount will now be £883 per month. If re-elected the Chancellor stated that this would be increased to £12,500 by 2020.
The point at which higher rate tax (40%) becomes payable will be £42,385 for 2015/16, meaning that the basic rate band will be £31,785. The Chancellor “promised” that this threshold would increase to £50,000 by 2020. The 45% rate will continue to apply to taxable income over £150,000.
Remember that the personal allowance is reduced where the taxpayer’s adjusted net income exceeds £100,000. The reduction is £1 of allowance for every £2 of excess income, resulting in a marginal tax rate of 60%. For 2015/16 this restriction is even wider than before with the increase in personal allowance to £10,600:
| Taxable income | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| £100,000 to £121,200 | 60% |
| £121,201 to £149,999 | 40% |
| £150,000 + | 45% |
Transfer of personal allowance
As previously announced, 2015/16 sees the introduction of a transferrable personal allowance for married couples and civil partners. As the amount that may be transferred is 10% of the basic personal allowance, this will now be £1,060.
The recipient must not be liable to tax above the basic rate and is eligible to a tax reduction of 20% of the transferred amount, in other words £212.
Leave A Comment