The beginning of a new year is the perfect opportunity for a fresh financial start, despite these challenging times of record-breaking inflation and soaring energy bills. The key to planning for the next 12 months is to be aware of notable financial events and add them to your calendar in advance so you know what to expect and when.
The UK Government recently announced further cost of living support for 2023/24, however, no details have been released yet on delivery dates for the £900 means-tested payment, £150 disability payment or the £300 payment for pensioner households. It is presumed the support will come later in the year, similar to this year’s support.
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown has compiled a list of important dates including tax return deadlines, pension dashboards, State Pension age review and benefits uprating. We have also included key dates for payments unique to Scotland.
Ms Morrissey said: “2022 has been a bruising year for our finances with spiralling inflation putting pressure on our budgets. It’s expected to ease off as we go through 2023 but it’s going to stay tough especially given that UK Government support in the form of cost of living payments will stop for most people this year.
“Added to this the amount of tax we pay continues to rise as the complex web of tax freezes and increases continues to pull more people into paying more tax - we need to keep watching the pennies closely throughout 2023.”
24 key dates to add to your 2023 calendar
January 31: Non barcoded stamps deadline
Be sure to rummage through your wallet and drawers and gather up any non-barcoded stamps because after this date they cease to be valid for postage. Any non-barcoded stamps can be returned to Royal Mail who will swap them for updated versions.
January 31: Tax return deadline
In the last week of January 2022, 1.5 million people still hadn’t filed their tax return, while 66,500 very early busy bees filed their returns on the first day of the tax year.
If you’ve been forgetting the stress of everyday life for a week or so, the early days of January are an ideal time to get on with the serious business of filing tax returns. It will mean you won’t have that nagging feeling gnawing away for the rest of the month. It also gives us the chance to get organised, get things right and the time to sift through the mountains of paperwork needed to file on time.
February: £50 Winter Heating Payment
Cold Weather Payments are set to be replaced this winter for people living in Scotland. The Scottish Government will introduce a new heating benefit from February 2023 that will give around 400,000 households on a low income a guaranteed £50 payment towards their energy bills - full details on eligible households can be found here.
March 15: Spring Budget
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has been asked to prepare a forecast by this date to accompany the Spring Budget.
March 31: £400 energy support payments end
The £400 energy bills support scheme comes to an end, with the final £67 deduction being applied to some 29 million electricity accounts.
The current financial year ends on April 5th and the new one begins on the 6th making this the busiest month of the 2023 financial calendar.
April 1: New £3,000 Energy Price Guarantee comes into effect
April is going to see all sorts of prices rise, and higher energy prices are going to be particularly painful with the Energy Price Guarantee rising to £3,000.
It’s important to remember that this isn’t a fixed cap on the most you can pay - it’s a cap on prices for the average user. If you burn through more energy, or live in a large or inefficient house, you could see prices rise even further.
April 1: TV licence fee is frozen
The UK Government is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee and in 2022 it announced that the fee would be frozen for two years at £159 before rising in line with inflation for four years from 2024.
April 1: Council Tax increase?
No details about a Council Tax rise have been shared yet. Council Tax is a local tax, with receipts retained by local government and separate from the Scottish Budget. It makes a significant contribution to the funding of public services with each council responsible for setting the tax rate that will apply in their local authority area.
April 1: National Living wage and minimum wage rise
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in November that the National Living Wage for individuals aged 23 and over would increase by 9.7% from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour.
April 6: Dividend and capital gains tax changes
The Autumn Statement brought bad news to entrepreneurs and people investing outside of a pension or ISA with the Chancellor reversing Kwasi Kwarteng’s proposed dividend tax cut and slashing the threshold from £2,000 to £1,000.
People receiving over £1,000 per year in dividend income will pay tax of 8.75%, 33.75% and 39.35% for basic, higher and additional rate taxpayers, respectively. In addition, the £12,300 capital gains tax threshold is being slashed to £6,000 and it will be cut further in 2024.
April 6: Additional rate income tax threshold slashed
The 45% additional rate of income tax threshold is cut from £150k to £125,140, as announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn Statement in November, while the basic rate of income tax is maintained at 20%.
April 6: Tax thresholds remain frozen
In addition to the changes mentioned above, there are several taxes that have and will remain frozen which means over time more of us end up paying that bit more. For instance, the personal allowance will stick at £12,570 in April and the higher rate threshold will be frozen at £50,270.
The inheritance tax nil rate band remains at £325,000, and the residential nil rate band £175,000. Plus, everything from ISA allowances to the annual gifting allowance, the high-income Child Benefit tax charge and the savings allowance remain the same.
April 6: State Pensions and benefits increase
From today people receiving the State Pension and other benefits will get a much needed 10.1% boost to what they receive - a full list of the new payment rates can be found here.
April 10: Carer’s Allowance deadline
New claims for Carer’s Allowance must be received by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by this date in order to qualify for the devolved Carer’s Allowance Supplement payment, worth £245. This is a devolved payment for Scots only and will be made to qualifying claimants in June.
May: Review of State Pension age published
There’s no definite date on this yet, but this report will be eagerly anticipated. State pension age is currently 66 and is due to rise to 67 by 2028. Under current plans it is due to hit 68 by 2046 though the UK Government has stated its intention to accelerate this to 2039.
Rumours suggest the UK Government wants to speed up the shift even more with a move to 68 potentially happening as early as 2032. However, with increases in longevity slowing and many people simply not able to keep working that long government will face fierce opposition if they are seen to be moving forward too quickly.
June: Carer’s Allowance Supplement
This is a one-off payment of £245.70 for eligible claimants of Carer’s Allowance living in Scotland. To qualify, you must have been in receipt of the benefit on April 10.
July 31: Payment on account deadline
Payments on account are advanced payments towards your tax bill if you are self-employed.
August: Pension Dashboard staging
The timeline for the Pensions dashboard gathers pace with the deadline for large pension providers such as master trusts to connect by the end of August.
They will be followed by money purchase schemes used for auto-enrolment by the end of September and then non-money purchase schemes. Staging is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2023 and into 2024.
October 10: Carer’s Allowance deadline
New claims for Carer’s Allowance must be received by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by this date in order to qualify for the devolved Carer’s Allowance Supplement payment, worth £245. This is a devolved payment for Scots only and will be made to qualifying claimants in December.
October 18: September inflation figure - used for Triple Lock and benefits uprating
Inflation is expected to be on its way down by this point, so we are unlikely to see the blockbusting 10.1% increase to state benefits that we saw this year. However, if the Triple Lock is still in place and wage data is higher than inflation, then pensioners could be in line for an extra boost.
October: Autumn Statement?
No date has been announced yet, but this usually happens in October. The delay to this year’s fiscal review was due to the change in Uk Government leadership, so it’s expected to be business as usual by this year - but anything can happen in politics.
October 31: Deadline to file paper self-assessment tax return for 2022-23 with HMRC
We are overwhelmingly filing our self-assessment tax returns online but for those who prefer a paper-based approach they will need to have submitted their forms to HMRC by this date.
November: Winter Fuel Payments
As we head back into winter, we will see the return of Winter Fuel Payments for those who qualify. Pensioners will be in line for an extra £300 cost of living payment.
December: Carer’s Allowance Supplement
This is a one-off payment of £245.70 for eligible claimants of Carer’s Allowance living in Scotland. To qualify, you must have been in receipt of the benefit on October 10.
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