After a year many of us will want to see the back of, we can only hope that 2023 will be a little kinder on our nerves… and our wallets. Financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown has put together a timeline of events that could impact upon savers and taxpayers in the coming 12 months, and here is a selection of most significance to savers and investors planning for retirement.31

1         January: Tax return deadline

In the last week of January 2022, 1.5 million people still hadn’t filed their tax return, while 66,500 very early busy bees filed their returns on the first day of the tax year. If you’ve been forgetting the stress of everyday life for a week or so, the early days of January are an ideal time to get on with the serious business of filing tax returns.

2         Early 2023: Review of State Pension Age published

There’s no definite date on this yet, but this report will be eagerly anticipated. State pension age is currently 66 and is due to rise to 67 by 2028. Under current plans it is due to hit 68 by 2046 though the government has stated its intention to accelerate this to 2039. Rumours suggest government wants to speed up the shift even more with a move to 68 potentially happening as early as 2032. However, with increases in longevity slowing, and many people simply not able to keep working that long, government will face fierce opposition if they are seen to be moving forward too quickly.

3          31 March: Universal energy support payments to end

The cost-of-living support payments issued by government have been a real lifeline for many people trying to meet rocketing energy bills over the winter. As these payments come to an end for the vast majority of people further belt tightening will be needed to meet the eye watering rise in bills.

4         1 April: New energy price guarantee comes into effect

April is going to see all sorts of prices rise, and higher energy prices are going to be particularly painful with the Energy Price Guarantee expected to hit £3,000. And it’s worth bearing in mind that this isn’t a fixed cap on the most you can pay: it’s a cap on prices for the average user. If you burn through more energy, or live in a large or inefficient house, you could see prices rise even further.

5          1 April: Council tax rises

The Budget paperwork included the fact that councils will be able to raise tax by 3% – plus another 2% for social care – without holding a referendum. The enormous rise in the cost of social care, and the additional cost of National Insurance on council wage bills, is going to put them under real pressure, so many of them are likely to raise council tax as much as they possibly can.

6          1 April: Water bill price changes come into effect

Several factors are used to determine changes in water bills including October inflation figures. With inflation proving particularly stubborn we can expect to see significant increases in water bills.

7          6 April: Dividend and capital gains tax changes:

The Autumn Statement brought bad news to entrepreneurs and people investing outside of a pension or ISA with the Chancellor reversing Kwasi Kwarteng’s proposed dividend tax cut and slashing the threshold from £2,000 to £1,000. People receiving over £1,000 per year in dividend income will pay tax of 8.75%, 33.75% and 39.35% for basic, higher and additional rate taxpayers, respectively. In addition, the £12,300 capital gains tax threshold is being slashed to £6,000 and it will be cut further in 2024.

8          6 April: Additional rate income tax threshold slashed while tax thresholds remain                   frozen

The 45% additional rate of income tax threshold is cut from £150k to £125,140 while the basic rate of income tax is maintained at 20%.

In addition to the changes, there are several taxes that have and will remain frozen which means over time more of us end up paying that bit more. For instance, the personal allowance will stick at £12,570 in April and the higher rate threshold will be frozen at £50,270. The inheritance tax nil rate band remains at £325,000, and the residential nil rate band £175,000.

Plus, everything from ISA allowances to the annual gifting allowance, the high-income child benefit tax charge and the savings allowance remain the same.

9          6 April:  State pensions rise with the triple lock and benefits rise by the same amount

From today people receiving the state pension and other benefits will get a much needed 10.1% boost to what they receive.

10        31 July: Payment on account deadline

Payments on account are advanced payments towards your tax bill if you are self-employed.

11        18 October: September inflation -used for triple lock and benefits

Inflation is expected to be on its way down by this point, so we are unlikely to see the blockbusting 10.1% increase to state benefits that we saw this year. However, if the triple lock is still in place and wage data is higher than inflation then pensioners could be in line for an extra boost.

12        31 October: Deadline to file paper self-assessment tax return for 2022-23 with HMRC

As a nation, we are overwhelmingly filing our self-assessment tax returns online; but for those who prefer a paper-based approach, they will need to have submitted their forms to HMRC by this date.

Finally…

That’s probably enough for one year! Don’t forget that you can keep on top of how any changes might impact YOUR retirement finances by reviewing your RetireEasy LifePlan on a regular basis. If your subscription has lapsed, reviewing it costs just a few pounds a month.