The spring budget 2024 – what it means for you

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has set out his 2024 spring budget. Find out what it means for you.

Universal credit

If you get an advance payment, you’ll now have 24 months to repay it rather than 12.

DRO fee scrapped

Until today, it cost £90 to make an application to the Insolvency Service for a debt relief order (DRO). Hunt has announced he is abolishing this fee, in a move he says will relieve pressure on about 40,000 families every year.

Household support fund

The household support fund which provides English councils with money to support residents is being extended for six months. It was due to close at the end of March. If you’re struggling to afford the basics, get in touch with your local council to see what’s available in your area.

Cheers!

The freeze on alcohol duty is to be extended until 1 February 2025.

Smoking

There will be a new tax on vapes and a one-off increase in tobacco duties.

Fuel duty

The fuel duty freeze has been extended for 12 months. Hunt claims this will save the average car driver £50 over the next year.

Child benefit

The government is consulting on applying the high-income threshold to households rather than individuals, with the aim of introducing an updated system by April 2026.

Currently, a two-parent family where both adults are earning £49,000 each wouldn’t have to pay back any of their child benefit, but a single parent earning £51,000 might.

While the government consults on changing the system to make it fairer, from April this year, the high-income child benefit threshold will increase from £50,000 to £60,000. This means you'll have to be earning at least £60,000 before you have to pay any child benefit back.

National insurance

From April, employee national insurance will be reduced from 10% to 8%, and self-employed national insurance will fall from 8% to 6%.

According to Hunt, this will mean 27 million employed people will be £900 a year better off and 2 million self-employed people will be £650 a year better off.