Martin Lewis reveals 11 Budget takeaways – and how to find out take-home pay
MARTIN Lewis has revealed the 11 crucial insights from the Spring Budget 2024.
The money-saving expert has summarized Wednesday’s announcement into key points so everyone can understand.
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Hardworking Brits received a £450 tax increase today as Jeremy Hunt froze fuel duty for another year and overhauled child benefit.
The Chancellor also froze alcohol duty, a huge win for Sun readers after our campaigns to keep drinks and fuel taxes low.
But there was a huge blow for smokers as a new tax on cigarettes and vapes will see prices reach record levels.
Martin Lewis has since set out what it means for the country.
11 crucial conclusions from the 2024 spring budget
MARTIN Lewis’ 11 take-home points from Wednesday’s announcement:
- Millions of workers will pay less national insurance from April as rates are cut AGAIN for both employees and the self-employed – although some will still be worse off as a result of frozen personal tax thresholds. Use our updated national insurance and income tax calculator to see your new take-home pay.
- The child support rules will spark a shake-up to end ‘unfairness’ in the system, in a major campaign win for Martin and MSE.
- The £90 debt relief charge will be scrapped.
- Universal Credit claimants will be given more time to repay ‘Budgeting Advances’.
- Vulnerable households will receive £500 million in extra support, through an expansion of the Household Support Fund.
- NS&I will launch ‘British Savings Bonds’.
- A new ‘UK ISA’ will be introduced.
- The air passenger tax will increase in 2025/2026.
- Vaping products will be taxed more heavily from October 1, 2026.
- Alcohol excise duty has been frozen (again) until February 1, 2025.
- Fuel excise duties have also been frozen again
Martin Lewis also said: “Although the following points were not directly mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech, the Spring Budget has also essentially confirmed:
- Personal income tax thresholds will remain frozen, meaning many will ultimately have to pay more tax.
- No changes to Lifetime ISAs, despite our calls for a review to ensure savers aren’t penalized for accessing their own money.
One of the changes was how much National Insurance (NI) workers would pay.
You can calculate your NI here with our calculator.
It comes after Martin Lewis hailed part of the announcement as a “great victory”.
Jeremy Hunt today offered more help with child benefit to parents earning more than £50,000.
And the money-saving expert hailed the chancellor’s decision, saying: “WE GOT THE PROFIT ON CHILD ALLOWANCE!”
The 51-year-old tweeted: “Chancellor tipped me off before the budget and said this was largely due to MSE’s campaign/my shows, all based on all those of you who messaged me to say this is the the most important thing was to present it to him. “
In his spring budget, Mr Hunt explained how child benefits will be withdrawn if a parent earns more than £50,000 a year.
He said: ‘That means two parents earning £49,000 a year will receive the full benefit, but a household earning much less will not if only one parent earns more than £50,000.
“Today I set out plans to put an end to this unfairness. This will require significant reform of the tax system, including allowing HMRC to collect information at household level.
“We will therefore consult on moving high-income child benefit to a household-based system to be introduced in April 2026.
“But because that is not a quick fix, I am making two changes today to make the current system fairer.”
He continued: ‘I confirm that from April the child benefit threshold for high income earners will increase from £50,000 to £60,000.
‘We will increase the top of the taper it is recorded on to £80,000.
‘That means no one earning less than £60,000 will pay the levy, eliminating the burden on a total of 170,000 families.
“And because of the higher taper and threshold, almost half a million families with children will save an average of around £1,300 next year.”
Martin explained: “So 1) From this April threshold, which has not changed since 2013, you go from a single parent earning £50,000 to £60,000 and you lose child benefit of £80,000 total (not £60,000).
“2) Consultation to move it to household income, not individual income, and hopefully that will be in effect from April 2026 (this is to stop the unfairness for single income/single parent families.”
Child benefits
EVERYTHING you need to know about child benefit: