Inland Revenue 1
17 March 1998
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INCOME TAX RATES AND ALLOWANCES
The Chancellor announced today that all allowances and
thresholds will rise in line with inflation.
The 1998-99 package:
Cuts the number of people paying tax at the basic rate by
widening the 20 per cent band by 200 pounds to 4,300 pounds,
in line with inflation. 7.5 million people now pay tax only
at the lower rate.
- Increases the basic rate limit by 1,000 pounds.
- Increases personal allowances by 150 pounds to 4,195
pounds.
- Increases the married couple's allowance and related
allowances, the higher allowances available for people
aged 65 and over, the blind person's allowance and the
income limit for age-related allowances.
- Extends the additional personal allowance to women with
children and incapacitated husbands.
- Makes no change to the rates of income tax.
1999-2000:
The Chancellor announced that the rate of relief at which the
married couple's allowance and related allowances are given
will be restricted to 10 per cent from 6 April 1999, with a
corresponding increase, above indexation, in the age-related
married couple's allowances for people aged 65 and over.
The Chancellor also announced the introduction of a new
payable income tax credit for working families. The Working
Families Tax Credit will begin in October 1999.
The package means:
- All income taxpayers, around 26 million people, will pay
less income tax in 1998- 99. On average, taxpayers will
be around 62 pounds a year, 1 pound 19 pence per week,
better off in cash terms;
- A one-earner couple on average earnings will be around 51
pounds a year, 98 pence per week, better off in cash
terms.
DETAILS
1. The Chancellor's proposals will result in the following
rates and bands for the tax year 1998-1999 (1997-1998 levels
shown for comparison):
Rate of tax Taxable income* Taxable income*
(per cent) 1997-1998 1998-1999
(pounds) (pounds)
Lower (20) 0-4,100 0-4,300
Basic (23) 4,101-26,100 4,301-27,100
Higher (40) over 26,100 over 27,100
*Taxable income is defined as gross income for tax
purposes, less those allowances and reliefs
available at the taxpayer's marginal rate.
2. The proposed levels of allowances for 1998-1999 are as
follows (1997-1998 levels shown for comparison):
Allowance 1997-98 1998-99
(pounds) (pounds)
Personal allowance 4,045 4,195
Personal allowance 5,220 5,410
(age 65-74)
Personal allowance 5,400 5,600
(age 75 and over)
Married couple's allowance, 1,830* 1,900*
Married couple's allowance 3,185* 3,305*
(age 65-74)
Married couple's allowance 3,225* 3,345*
(age 75 and over)
Blind person's allowance 1,280 1,330
Income limit for 15,600 16,200
age-related allowances.
*Relief is restricted to 15 per cent in 1998-1999
for married couple's allowance and other related
allowances (widow's bereavement allowance,
additional personal allowance and maintenance
relief).
3. The Chancellor announced that relief for the married
couple's allowance and the allowances linked to it would be
restricted to 10 per cent in 1999-2000, with a corresponding
increase, above indexation, in the age-related married
couple's allowances for people aged 65 and over. The
restriction will also apply to the allowances and reliefs
which are set at the same level as the under-65s married
couple's allowance. These are the additional personal
allowance, the widow's bereavement allowance and relief for
maintenance payments to a divorced or separated spouse.
Relief for maintenance payments
4. People making maintenance payments currently qualify for
tax relief on the amounts they pay, up to a limit of 1,830
pounds. That limit will be increased, in line with the
married couple's allowance, to 1,900 pounds from 6 April 1998.
Similarly, relief on these payments, which is currently
restricted to 15 per cent, will be restricted to 10 per cent
from 6 April 1999.
5. People who entered into maintenance arrangements before
15 March 1988 may currently qualify for relief on payments up
to the total amount on which they received relief in 1988-89.
This relief is restricted (for 1998-99) to 15 per cent on the
first 1,900 pounds of the payments they make, but any payments
made over that figure up to the person's 1988-89 limit
qualify at their marginal rate. From 6 April 1999, relief in
line with the married couple's allowance will be restricted to
10 per cent, with the balance up to the person's 1988-89
limit continuing to qualify for relief at their marginal
rate.
6. The tax treatment of people receiving maintenance
payments is not affected by the restriction of relief to 10
per cent from 6 April 1999, regardless of when their
arrangements were made.
Extension of the additional personal allowance
7. The Chancellor announced that, with effect from 6 April
1997, the additional personal allowance will be extended to
women with children and incapacitated husbands living with
them. This allowance has previously only been available to
parents who were not living with a spouse, and fathers with
incapacitated wives.
Income tax on savings
8. There are no changes to the tax charge on income from
savings (for example, interest paid by bank and building
societies) which is now 20 per cent. Higher rate taxpayers
will continue to pay tax on such income at 40 per cent.
The rate applicable to trusts
9. The rate applicable to trusts, which applies to income of
discretionary and accumulation trusts, will remain at 34 per
cent.
Working Families Tax Credit
10. The Working Families Tax Credit will provide help to over
1 million families It is central to the programme of tax and
benefit reform announced in the Budget, which will be
supported by the minimum wage. The WFTC will make work pay for
families, tackling the main obstacles to work: the
unemployment trap, the poverty trap and lack of affordable
childcare. For further details please see HMT press notice.
Changes to PAYE codes
11. PAYE codes for the year 1998-1999 will change as a result
of the measures announced today. In general, people who only
receive the personal allowance will have their code adjusted
by their employer or pension provider in accordance with
general instructions issued by their tax office. These people
will not receive a notice of coding from the Inland Revenue
unless one is required for some other reason. People who
receive the married couple's allowance and related allowances
will be sent an adjusted notice of coding. Employers will
operate amended codes on the first pay-day after 17 May.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Statutory Indexation
1. Income tax legislation requires the main allowances and
thresholds to be increased in line with the Retail Prices
Index, unless Parliament determines otherwise.
2. Changes in allowances have to be rounded up to the
nearest multiple of 10 pounds, and thresholds and bands to
the nearest multiple of 100 pounds.
3. The effects of the changes - on individual taxpayers at
various levels of income - are illustrated in tables which
accompany this press release on the Internet.
Revenue effects
4. The proposals will have no cost in 1998-99, a yield of
720 million pounds in 1999-2000 and a yield of 1,080 million
poundsin 2000-01, compared with indexation.
Effects on taxpayer numbers
5. The number of taxpayers at any given time depends partly
on the level of tax allowances and thresholds, and partly on
a number of underlying economic factors (for example, levels
of employment and wages). Provisional estimates are that
there will be 26.2 million income taxpayers in 1998-1999,
100,000 more than in 1997-1998. If the allowances and limits
had been frozen this year, the number of income taxpayers
would have increased to 26.6 million.
INCOME TAX RATES AND ALLOWANCES 1998-1999 ILLUSTRATIVE TABLES
The effects of the changes to the income tax rates and
allowances proposed in the Budget on individual taxpayers at
various levels of income are illustrated in the Excel Spreadsheet
tables which accompany this press release on the Internet.
The tables assume that the taxpayer has no tax reliefs other
than the appropriate personal and married couple's allowance
(and that where the individual has the married couple's
allowance, he or she is receiving the full amount of the
allowance, including the age-related allowance if they are 65
and over and their income is below the aged income limit).
The tax liability of people with the additional personal
allowance or the widow's bereavement allowance is the same as
for people aged under 65 with the married couple's allowance.
INLAND REVENUE PRESS OFFICE
Media enquiries to: 0171 438 6692/6706/7327
(Out of hours 0860 359544)
Non media enquiries to: 0171 438 6420/6425
(Office hours only)