Tax Allowances You Should Know About

Wednesday 27th March 2024

TAX-FREE PERSONAL ALLOWANCE

The standard Personal Allowance is £12,570, which is the amount of income you do not have to pay tax on. 

Your Personal Allowance may be bigger if you claim a Marriage Allowance or a Blind Person’s Allowance. It’s smaller if your income is over £100,000.

INCOME TAX RATES AND BANDS

Band	Taxable Income	Tax Rate
Personal Allowance	Up to £12,570	0%
Basic Rate	£12,571 to £50,270	20%
Higher Rate	£50,271 to £125,140	40%
Additional Rate	Over £125,140	45%

TRADING ALLOWANCE

The trading allowance is a tax exemption of up to £1,000 a year for individuals with trading income from;

• Self-Employment

• Casual services

• Hiring personal equipment

If your annual gross income from these is less than £1,000 you do not need to tell HMRC, unless -

-You cannot use these allowances

-You must register for Self Assessments and declare your income on a tax return.

MARRIAGE ALLOWANCE

The marriage allowance lets you transfer £1,260 of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife or civil partner. 

This reduces their tax by up to £252 in the tax year.

You can benefit from a Marriage Allowance if all the following apply:

• You’re married or in a civil partnership

• You do not pay Income Tax or your income is below your Personal Allowance

• Your partner pays Income Tax at the basic rate, which usually means their income is between £12,570 and £50,270 before they receive Marriage Allowance.

CAPITAL GAINS ALLOWANCE

Everyone is entitled to the capital gains allowance. When you sell an asset, profits below this threshold are free from capital gains tax.

The capital gains allowance was previously £6,000 but as previously announced this would be reduced to £3,000 from April 2024.  

DIVIDEND ALLOWANCE

You may get a dividend payment if you own shares in a company. You can earn some dividend income each year without paying tax. 

You do not pay tax on any dividend income that falls within your Personal Allowance, You also get a dividend allowance each year, you only pay tax on any dividend income above the dividend allowance.

Dividend allowance for 2024 - £1,000.