Hot off the press are the key headlines from the 2025 Spring Statement.   

Summarised below are the major points that might impact you: 

Tax Changes

Tax Increases 

No further tax increases were announced - great news for everyone although it should be noted that there will be tax changes, especially for businesses which will go up next week.

Tax Evasion

The Government will invest in “cutting-edge technology, strengthening HMRC's ability to combat tax avoidance”, and outlined plans to increase the number of tax fraud prosecutions by 20% annually.

Welfare Changes

Changes were announced to Universal Credit

Universal Credit

The Universal Credit standard allowance will rise from £92 per week in 2025-26 to £106 per week by 2029-30, while the Universal Credit Health element will be reduced by 50% and subsequently frozen for new claimants

Housebuilding Plans

The Chancellor stated that changes in national planning policy will help build 1.3m new homes in the next five years.

Who will build the homes? £600m was set aside to train up to 60,000 more construction workers - this includes 10 new technical excellence colleges across every region of the country.

Stamp Duty Changes previously announced and coming into effect from April 1st.

• First-Time Buyers: The 0% threshold decreases from £425,000 to £300,000; properties priced over £300,000 will incur a 5% tax on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000.

Stamp Duty will be higher for first time buyers if the property they are buying costs over £300,000.

Summary

Many of the changes announced today were focussed on the Government saving money in some areas, and investing in key areas such as defence and homebuilding. Some people however may lose out on some of their benefits in relation to Universal Health Credit.