The Salary Calculator

Updates for USA tax changes

by Admin

Over the New Year period I was in the USA, watching with interest as the government there tried to resolve their tax and spending problem that was called the “fiscal cliff”. This cliff was due to the fact that many of their tax laws were due to expire at the end of 2012 and they had not yet agreed how to proceed for 2013. Tax years in the USA are the same as calendar years, starting on 1st January, so it was important that they reached a conclusion over the holiday period.

There is a US version of The Salary Calculator, and so I needed to know how to update it for 2013. Unfortunately, when the answer came, it wasn’t simple and it wasn’t very clear, either. As well as changes to some of the tax rates (including an increase for the top rate from 35% to 39.6%), there was an additional Medicare (health care) tax of 0.9% on those earning over $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples). There was also the re-introduction of old regulations which reduce the amount you can deduct before tax – Personal Exemption Phaseout (PEP) and “Pease” (reduction of pre-tax deductions named after the congressman who created it). PEP is similar to the personal allowance reduction which occurs in UK tax if you earn over £100,000 and applies to those earning more than $250,000 ($300,000 for married couples). Pease reduces pre-tax deductions such as charitable giving for those earning more than these same thresholds. The overall effect is to increase income tax revenue, largely from the upper middle class and the wealthy.

As well as applying these tax changes to The Salary Calculator, I also had to include something called Alternative Minimum Tax, which is used to make sure that taxpayers don’t use so many deductions and loopholes to reduce their tax burden below a certain percentage of their income. This had been in effect for a few years but was rising in prominence and the number of taxpayers it affects, so I was overdue in adding it.

All of this led to a significant amount of work, not least in finding reliable figures for the thresholds and rates which apply to all of these for 2013. Even though I believe I have found the latest ones, the US government is meeting again later in the year to discuss tax plans again, and it is possible that these figures or rules may even be changed again – if this happens I will update the US Salary Calculator with the latest information. To learn more about the tax calculations, see this page about the US Salary Calculator.

Tags: 2013, fiscal cliff, The Salary Calculator, united states, us, usa, USA tax

Changes to Child Benefit

by Admin

As you might have seen in the news, the government has introduced changes to who is eligible to receive Child Benefit, taking effect from 7th January 2013. If you or your partner earn over £50,000, the amount of Child Benefit you are eligible for will be reduced – and if one of you earns over £60,000 you will not be eligible to receive any Child Benefit. Those who are earning between £50,000 and £60,000 will have a choice to make before 7th January, since they can still keep some of the Child Benefit they are used to. You can either:

1. Opt out of Child Benefit, and stop receiving it from 7th January 2012
2. Choose to continue receiving Child Benefit, but pay a “High Income Charge” as an extra tax, effectively reducing their net Child Benefit. To do this, they must register for Self Assessment and complete a tax return each year

If you choose option 2, you will receive the same amount of Child Benefit as you currently do – but you will have to complete a tax return at the end of the tax year, and HMRC will levy an additional tax of some (or all) of the Child Benefit you received. This so-called “High Income Charge” is calculated as a proportion of where your total income comes between the £50,000 and £60,000 thresholds – e.g., if your income is £55,000, you will have to pay back 50% of the Child Benefit you receive. The income used is your “adjusted net income”, which is not simply your salary – you must add to this any additional income like interest paid on savings, and deduct eligible pension contributions. When you complete a tax return through Self Assessment, HMRC will work out your adjusted net income and the proportion of Child Benefit that you must repay. The High Income Charge will never be more than the Child Benefit you or your partner received. More information is available on HMRC’s High Income Child Benefit Charge page.

If you find yourself in the £50,000 – £60,000 income band, you have a limited amount of time to decide whether you are going to give up Child Benefit or register for Self Assessment (if you haven’t already) and pay the High Income Charge. To help you understand better how this will affect you, there is a government tool you can use to help decide what to do, which will guide you through the relevant points to consider.

Tags: April 2012, Child Benefit, High Income Charge, HMRC, January 2012, Self Assessment

New – “Plan 2” Student Loans

by Admin

The Salary Calculator has been updated to support the latest changes to student loan repayments which will take effect for some tax payers next April. For students who start their courses this autumn, the way that deductions will be calculated when they enter the workplace will be different from the deductions applied to students of previous years.

Students whose courses started before 1st September 2012 (including those of you who have completed your course and have even started repaying) will see no change, and will repay the loan with deductions of 9% of your salary which is over a threshold of £15,795 per year. This is as before, but it is now called “Plan 1”. If your course started after 1st September 2012 and you are resident in England or Wales, you will repay under “Plan 2”. Plan 2 repayments are also made at a rate of 9%, but only on salary over a threshold of £21,000 per year. This means that deductions will be lower, and repayment of the loan will take longer. Of course, most students who started their course this autumn will not be expecting to enter employment for a few years, and deductions are only made from the April after you finish your course. However, if your course is short or this will apply to you when you graduate and you would like to see how it will affect your take home pay, The Salary Calculator will show you if you tick the “Plan 2” box. Check out The Salary Calculator to see what your Student Loan deductions will be.

It is in fact possible to have a loan under Plan 1 and a loan under Plan 2 – for example, if you have studied on more than one course. In this case, the deduction from your salary is still just at 9% (over the Plan 1 threshold of £15,795), but the repayment is split between your two loans. Deductions due to salary between £15,795 and £21,000 go towards repaying the Plan 1 loan. Any deductions from salary over £21,000 go towards repaying your Plan 2 loan.

Plan 2 loans also have a different interest rates charged from Plan 1 loans, which at the moment are higher than Plan 1 interest rates. This, coupled with the lower monthly repayments made under Plan 2, means that students with Plan 2 loans will spend more time (and more money!) repaying their loans. Our sister site Loan Tutor has a student loan repayment tool which will allow you to estimate how long it will take you to repay your student loan given your salary, outstanding loan amount and repayment method (i.e. whether your course started after 1st September 2012 or not).

For more information about student loan repayment, see the Student Loan Repayment website.

Tags: Pay As You Earn, student loans, The Salary Calculator

Childcare voucher petition

by Admin

Since my blog post about childcare vouchers earlier this week, I’ve heard from the people at Busy Bees Benefits, one of the companies that offer childcare voucher schemes to employers, like those I described in my blog post. They told me about a petition they have launched to increase the value of vouchers that could be received by parents tax-free.

As I described in my previous post, the value of vouchers that can be received tax-free is currently £2,915 per year, or £55 per week. This limit has been the same since 2006, but many parents are finding that the cost of childcare has increased in the years since then so the vouchers do not cover as much of their childcare fees. Busy Bees Benefits are trying to get this limit raised to £75 per week (£3,975 per year), and the first step is to get 100,000 signatures on the petition so the proposal can be debated in Parliament. Increasing the tax-free limit would allow parents to sacrifice more of their salary in exchange for vouchers, therefore saving more tax and National Insurance.

More details are available on the Busy Bees Benefits childcare voucher petition page, where you can learn more and sign the petition if you want to back the change!

Tags: childcare vouchers, income tax, national insurance, Pay As You Earn, The Salary Calculator

Childcare Vouchers added!

by Admin

The Salary Calculator has been updated with a new option for Childcare Vouchers. Some employers offer employees the opportunity to have some of their pay in the form of vouchers which can be exchanged with accredited childcare providers instead of cash. These vouchers can be taken tax-free, saving the employee money.

Childcare vouchers are subtracted from your salary before tax and National Insurance, like pension contributions. However, there is a limit to the amount that can be taken tax-free each year – for the current tax year, this amount is £2,915. You can receive childcare vouchers above this amount, but you will not get the tax benefits. If you signed up for the voucher scheme before 6th April 2011, this limit applies no matter how much you earn. However, if you joined the scheme after this date and pay tax above the 20% Basic Rate, the amount you can receive tax-free is reduced. For those paying 40% tax (typically earning £42,475 or more), the tax-free allowance for childcare vouchers is £1,484 – and for those paying 50% tax (earning over £150,000) it is just £1,166.

To see how childcare vouchers can affect your take-home pay, head over to The Salary Calculator and enter your salary, along with the value of vouchers you receive each month. If you joined the scheme before 6th April 2011, tick the box to this effect. Enter the rest of your details and click Go! to see the results.

Tags: April 2011, childcare vouchers, income tax, national insurance, Pay As You Earn, pension, Pensions, The Salary Calculator