Key Changes for the 2025/2026 Tax Year You Need to Know

It’s that time again—when a new tax year begins and brings with it a host of changes and updates to tax regulations.

Key Changes that will directly affect your take home pay

1. Student Loan Threshold Changes

The repayment thresholds for student loans has been increased, which means your repayment amount will decrease.

Plan Type	Rate	2024 Threshold	2025 Threshold
Plan 1	9%	£24,990	£26,065
Plan 2	9%	£27,295	£28,470
Plan 4	9%	£31,395	£32,745

2. Changes to child benefit

The rate of child benefit will rise by 1.7%. That will mean families with one child will receive £26.05 a week for the first or only child and £17.25 a week for other children. Child benefit tax thresholds remains unchanged.

	2024 Rate	2025 Rate
First child	£1,331.20	£13,54.60
Additional child	£881.40	£897.00

3. Changes to Scottish Tax Bands

Although the tax rates for Scotland remain unchanged, there have been updates to the thresholds, which means you will pay less income tax. Particularly beneficial if you are a low earner.

Band	Rate	2024 Tax Band	2025 Tax Band
Scottish Starter Rate	19%	£12,571 to £14,876	£12,571 to £15,397
Scottish Basic Rate	20%	£14,877 to £26,561	£15,398 to £27,491

4. National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) Increases

As announced in the Autumn Budget, the National Minimum Wage will rise on April 6, 2025. The new rates are as follows:

Age Group	2024 Hourly Rate	2025 Hourly Rate
21+	£11.44	£12.21
18-20	£8.60	£10.00
Under 18	£6.40	£7.55
Apprentice	£6.40	£7.55

To calculate your take home pay with customized values, please use our tool here.

Other Key Changes

1. Statutory Leave Rates

From April 2025, statutory pay rates will also increase. Here are the new weekly rates for statutory maternity, paternity, sick pay, and other entitlements:

Statutory Payment	Change	Rate
Statutory Paternity Pay	Increase	£187.18
Statutory Maternity Pay	Increase	£187.18
Shared Parental Pay	Increase	£187.18
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)	Increase	£118.75

2. National Insurance Threshold Changes

Several National Insurance thresholds will also change in April:

Threshold	Change	Monthly	Annual
Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)	Increase	£542	£6,500
Primary Threshold (PT)	No Change	£1,048	£12,570
Secondary Threshold (ST)	Decrease	£417	£5,000
Upper Earnings Limit (UEL)	No Change	£4,189	£50,270
New Investment Zone Threshold	New	£2,083	£25,000

3. Employer Class 1 National Insurance Rate Increase

Starting in April 2025, the employer’s Class 1 National Insurance rate will increase by 1.2 percentage points, from 13.8% to 15%. This change will apply from the first pay date on or after April 6.

4. New Employment Allowance

The Employment Allowance will increase significantly, rising from £5,000 to £10,500 per year. The eligibility criteria are also being relaxed.

5. Small Employer’s Relief Increase

The rate for Small Employer’s Relief will increase from 103% to 108.5%, giving small businesses more compensation.

6. New Laws Coming in 2025

Several new laws and proposals will affect businesses in 2025:

• Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024: Expected to give bereaved partners a ‘day one’ right to paternity leave.
• Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill: A bill aiming for equal pay and reporting of ethnicity and disability pay gaps for businesses with over 250 employees.
• Right to Disconnect: A new law being introduced to give employees the right to disconnect from work outside working hours.

7. The Employment Rights Bill

This significant piece of legislation will propose sweeping changes to employment rights, including:

• Abolishing the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection.
• Day one rights for parental and bereavement leave.
• Stricter regulations around zero-hour contracts, ‘fire and rehire’ practices, and flexible working.

Many of these changes won’t take effect until 2026, but businesses should stay informed and participate in consultations when possible.

8. Capital Gains Tax increase

Capital gains tax (CGT) is charged on the profits made from selling assets, such as investments or valuable possessions.

At the Autumn Budget it was confirmed that CGT would rise with immediate effect from 10% to 18% for basic rate taxpayers, and from 20% to 24% for higher and additional rate taxpayers. Remember, that gains can also be offset against losses made when selling other assets, so it is important to retain records when selling items which may attract capital gains or losses.

9. Council tax to rise

Council tax is scheduled to increase again in April 2025, with local authorities in England allowed to raise bills by up to 5%.

Government data shows that the average Band D council tax in England for 2024/25 was £2,171, meaning households could see an increase of up to £109.

10. Road tax increases and electric car exemption to end

Starting in April 2025, major changes to car tax rates will take effect, particularly impacting new vehicle purchases.

Electric vehicle (EV) owners will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), commonly known as road tax. While EVs are currently tax-free, they will soon be required to pay a first-year rate of £10. Additionally, EVs costing over £40,000 will be subject to the Expensive Car Supplement, which currently stands at £410.

Tax rates for low-emission vehicles will also rise. The charge for new cars emitting 1-50g/km of CO2, including hybrids, will increase from £10 to £110. Vehicles emitting 51-75g/km will see a hike from £30 to £130, while those producing 76g/km or more will face doubled rates. At the highest level, cars emitting over 255g/km of CO2 will see their first-year tax surge from £2,745 to £5,490.

11. Increases in tobacco and alcohol duty

Starting 30 October 2024, tobacco duty has increased in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation plus 2%, while duty on hand-rolling tobacco has risen by RPI plus 10%.

From 1 February 2025, alcohol duty on non-draught products—including wine, spirits, and bottled beer—will rise by 2.7%. In contrast, duty on draught alcohol served in pubs, bars, and restaurants will decrease by 1.7%.