This afternoon, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced his Autumn Statement. Below we have highlighted some of the key tax announcements made by the Chancellor.
Employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) cut
The main rate of Class 1 employee NICs will be cut from 12% to 10% with effect from 6th January 2024.
National Insurance Contributions cut for the Self-Employed
From 6 April 2024, the main rate of Class 4 NICs will reduce from 9% to 8% and in addition Class 2 NICs will be abolished.
National Living Wage increases
The National Living Wage will increase from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour from 1 April 2024 with the age threshold lowered from 23 to 21 years old.
Full expensing made permanent
The Chancellor has announced that the full expensing tax relief on qualifying capital expenditure will be made permanent. This allows companies to write off the full cost of qualifying plant and machinery investment.
R&D tax relief
The Chancellor confirmed the merging of the current SME and RDEC tax relief schemes from April 2024.
State Pension and working age benefits increasing
The Triple Lock will be maintained and the State Pension will increase by 8.5% for 2024-25. Working age benefits will increase for 2024-25 by the September 2023 CIP inflation of 6.7%.
Alcohol Duties frozen
The Chancellor announced a freeze on alcohol duties until 1 August 2024
Look out for our full Autumn Budget tax update
Tomorrow our tax experts will be releasing our full Autumn Statement update. If you would like to receive this update straight into your inbox please sign up for our mailing list and select Tax.
Alternatively, you can follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook to see our full Autumn Statement update.
Free initial meeting
Related content
Dividend Tax Changes for Business Owners: What You Need to Know
jmb@hawsons.co.uk Property income tax changes and savings income tax changes are also on the way from April 2027. Here is how they fit together and what to consider now. At the 2025 Autumn Budget, the UK Government confirmed changes to dividend tax rates that will...
Spring Statement Summary 2026
sac@hawsons.co.uk aaronhemmington@hawsons.co.uk The Chancellor held the Spring Statement on 3 March 2026. The government has been keen to have only one tax event per year (the Budget) and so the Spring Statement was intended to provide an interim update on the economy...
Government Announce Inheritance Tax Changes to APR and BPR
The Government has confirmed further changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) following the November Budget. These updates will be included in the Finance Bill next month and will affect Inheritance Tax planning for farmers and...



