The finance specialists at Debtsolver have picked out some of the key points from the 2010 Budget and outlined the ways in which they could affect those facing mounting debt. For more information on how to solve your debt problem or how your debt could be affected by the Budget, visit www.debtsolver.co.uk.

• For first time home buyers, the stamp duty on all properties worth up to £250,000 will be suspended for the next two tax years. To compensate for this, a higher rate of stamp duty will be applied to properties worth more than £1m from 2011.
• For those whose financial situation has changed unexpectedly, by losing their job for example, the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme will maintain its present higher rate for another six months.
• As of 2012, any parents with children two or under will receive an additional £4 a week in child tax credit.
• The winter fuel allowance for pensioners will stay at £250 (£400 for those over 80) for another year.
• The Budget also outlined the Chancellor’s desire for everyone to have access to a bank account. Over the next five years, one million of the 1.75 million people without a bank account will have access to a basic account. This type of account allows you to have a debit card but no access to an overdraft facility.
• In terms of your spending, duties are set to rise. Fuel duty went up by a penny in April, with a further increase of a penny in October and another to follow next January.
• The forecast increase to the tax on alcohol has already taken effect but there will also be an increase of 2% above inflation between 2013 and 2015. The one exception is cider, which has already gone up by 10% above inflation.
• Tobacco duty has gone up by 1% above inflation and will go up by 2% above inflation every year until 2014.

Taking account of the increase in duty is essential to better money management. Even small changes can throw your budget out and become incrementally more damaging to your financial situation. Of course, everyone’s circumstances are different so if you are facing debt problems and are unsure what impact the budget will have on you, visit www.debtsolver.co.uk and take the free, no obligation debt health check.

Related posts:

1. How to Set Up a Personal Budget

This entry was posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 7:30 am and is filed under Debt News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.