Archive for March, 2010

2010 Budget announced

by Admin

Today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced his Budget for the tax year starting 6th April 2010. There were no real surprises and a summary of the changes is on the BBC website here.

The Salary Calculator has already been updated, as described in a previous post, so the April 2010 values are used for both National Insurance and tax calculation. Details of the values used are on this page about the Salary Calculator, check it out and see whether the new tax rates will affect you!

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Mortgage availability continues to rise

by Admin

Since the collapse of the housing market and plummetting property values filled the mortgage companies with fear of taking on the risks of buyers defaulting on the their home loan, the number of mortgages available to buyers also fell. But over the last year the trend in both house prices and mortgage availability has been promising.

More mortgages are now available with lower deposits (higher loan-to-value) than a few months ago, and some lenders are prepared to risk more with first time buyers. All of this is good news if you are looking to buy a house, and although prices have recently fallen slightly, the overall trend is still for prices to increase. Increased mortgage availability should help more buyers into the market, increasing demand and pushing prices up.

But a note of caution – with house prices returning to the value current occupants bought at, more and more owners will feel ready to sell up – more houses on the market increases supply and therefore lowers the price. Some analysts think that this effect will start to work harder against the increasing demand, slowing growth in house prices, but not actually pushing prices back down.

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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 Mortgages No Comments

April 2010 rates applied

by Admin

It’s that time of year again – The Salary Calculator has been updated with the latest tax information which takes effect from 6th April 2010.

As reported at the end of last year, for most people there’s actually no difference between the 2009 figures and the 2010 ones. Personal allowances are staying the same (whereas they usually go up), as are National Insurance payment thresholds.

However, there are some changes for those earning over £100,000 – personal allowances are reduced by £1 for every £2 your salary goes over £100,000, and there is a new 50% tax rate for taxable income over £150,000. So while most of the population will find their payslips unchanged come April, the highest earners will find themselves significantly worse off.

To see how you’re affected, try out The Salary Calculator with your salary. The details of the figures used by The Salary Calculator are available on the About page.

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