Many of the proposals that emerged in Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘mini-Budget’ on 23 September 2022 have been reversed. However, some remain. The more notable surviving changes are:

National insurance contributions

The 1.25 percentage points increases to all 2022/23 class 1 and class 4 NIC rates initially introduced by Rishi Sunak as Chancellor were scrapped with effect from 6 November 2022. The revised rates are shown here.

The 1.25% health and social care levy, which was due to replace the NIC increase from 2023/24, was also abandoned.

Stamp duties

From 23 September 2022, SDLT rates for residential property were revised, increasing the 0% band threshold from £125,000 to £250,000.

The government also increased relief for first-time buyers, raising the 0% band threshold from £300,000 to £425,000 and the maximum value of property on which they can claim the relief from £500,000 to £625,000. These changes only affect England and Northern Ireland.

The Welsh government has revised some of its land transaction tax (LTT) residential rates. From 10 October 2022, the starting threshold for paying main residential rates of LTT increased from £180,000 to £225,000. The first tax band will cover transactions from £225,000 to £400,000 and be taxed at 6%. The tax rates and bands for properties over £400,000 and for additional residential and all corporate residential properties are unchanged.

The Scottish Government has announced that it will set out its plans for land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) in its Budget on 15 December.

Annual investment allowance

The current £1 million level of the annual investment allowance was made permanent.

Company share option plan (CSOP)

From April 2023, qualifying companies will be able to issue up to £60,000 of CSOP options to employees, doubling the current limit. The ‘worth having’ restriction on share classes within the CSOP will be eased, better aligning the scheme rules with the rules in the enterprise management incentive (EMI) scheme and widening access to CSOP for growth companies.

Venture capital schemes

From April 2023, companies will be able to raise up to £250,000 of seed enterprise investment scheme (SEIS) investment – a £100,000 increase on the current limit. At the same time: the gross asset limit will be increased to £350,000; the company age limit will be raised from two to three years; and the annual investor limit will double to £200,000.

The SEIS, enterprise investment scheme (EIS) and venture capital trust (VCT) scheme will be extended beyond 2025.

Office of Tax Simplification

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) will be abolished, to be replaced with a mandate to the Treasury and HMRC to focus on simplifying the tax code.