Winter fuel payments to be clawed back via tax system
A government U-turn on the winter fuel payment was announced this week, with a new means-tested threshold. How will this work in practice?
Recent weeks have been rife with speculation that the government would announce a climbdown for the current year, and this has now happened. Under the new system, all pensioners will initially receive the winter fuel payment. For those with incomes above the new threshold of £35,000, this will then be clawed back via PAYE or self-assessment (as applicable). The government has confirmed that this threshold will apply to each individual, not to each household.
The threshold includes all sources of taxable income, so pensions (including the state pension) will be included, but qualifying ISA interest won’t be. It will be possible to opt out of receiving the payment, e.g. where you know your income will exceed the threshold. Crucially, the government has confirmed that nobody will need to register with HMRC as a result of the changes.
Related Topics
-
Salary transparency on recruitment
A pay transparency survey has revealed that 70% of employers intend to share salary ranges with external candidates during recruitment ahead of the EU Pay Transparency Directive coming into force. Will this become a legal requirement?
-
HMRC has recently expanded the scope of taxpayers who can arrange a payment plan online. What are the new parameters and conditions?
HMRC has recently expanded the scope of taxpayers who can arrange a payment plan online. What are the new parameters and conditions?
-
MONTHLY FOCUS: BREXIT - BUYING AND SELLING GOODS AND SERVICES
Since the UK left the EU almost four years ago, there are new rules and procedures you will need to familiarise yourself with if you want to trade goods and services with EU customers or suppliers. In this Monthly Focus, we look at some of the key ones.