The first Conservative Budget since 1996

We’ve been waiting for this Budget with bated breath since the Conservatives won the election in May – and the Chancellor delivered a lot in his “big Budget” of Summer 2015. In many ways, Mr Osborne’s announcements this time around are more important than in March, as this Budget sets out many of the measures the Conservatives have wanted to put in place for some time.

How is this Budget going to affect you?

One of the most talked about features has been the plan to cut the welfare bill by £12bn, as Mr Osborne aims to be

bold in building the aspirations of working people.

There will be major changes to the system of tax credits, with only those lowest-income families being able to claim tax credits. This will be combined with changes to entitlement to Universal Credit.

Property also featured heavily, with some important changes for landlords:

• Tax relief on mortgage interest payments on residential property will be restricted to the basic rate of tax, a change that will be phased in over four years from April 2017.
• Private landlords will also see the 10% wear and tear allowance replaced by deductions for the actual cost of replacing furnishings.
• There will be an extra inheritance tax nil rate band for main residences passed on death to descendants, starting at £100,000 in 2017-18 and rising to £175,000 by 2020/21.

As usual, we are on hand to help you if you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in the Summer Budget in further details. We will be pleased to hear from you.

For a full overview on the Budget 2015 please download the summary here.

Acumen’s summary – Budget 2015.