New tax changes coming into effect this week mean your take home salary should increase

Changes announced in Philip Hammond's Budget last year will take effect this week

The current tax year comes to an end this week and with new rules coming into effect, an increased personal allowance should see workers’ take-home pay go up.

The personal allowance is the amount of income a worker is not required to pay tax on.

Following an announcement in last year’s Autumn Budget, the personal allowance for earners in the basic rate band (those on salaries between £11,501 and £45,000) will rise to £11,850 on Friday 6 April. The threshold to be included in the higher rate band – currently those on salaries from £45,001 to £105,000 – will increase to £46,350.

When the chancellor, Philip Hammond, announced the new rates in November last year, the Treasury said the changes would represent a £1,075 reduction in the amount of tax paid by the typical taxpayer in 2018-2019 compared with 2010. The average full-time worker on the national living wage will take home more than £3,800 extra in the new tax year.

However, as take-home pay rises so will council tax, with households across England set to be hit with the largest hike in 14 years leaving the average home paying £81 more.

Council tax bills in shire areas will pay highest rate at £1,749, up by £86, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, and people living in Band D properties in England will see an average 5.1 per cent increase in their tax bill, rising to £1,671.

Meanwhile, from Monday anyone buying a new diesel car will pay an extra supplement if the vehicle is not certified to the real driving emissions 2 standard.

In practical terms, according to the Treasury, this means someone purchasing a typical Ford Focus diesel will pay an additional £20 in the first year, a VW Golf will incur a charge of £40, a Vauxhall Mokka £300 and a Land Rover Discovery £400.

Tax reductions announced in last year’s Budget which have already come into force include the scrapping of stamp duty land tax for first time buyers purchasing properties worth up to £300,000.