03 March 2021

Budget 2021 – key points for primary eye care

Here is a summary of what you need to know about today’s budget.

• Minimum wage to increase to £8.91 an hour from April

• Personal income tax allowance and higher income tax threshold to be frozen from 2022 to 2026 – i.e. no adjustment for inflation for at least four years

• No changes to rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT

• Companies that make a profit of £50,000 or less per year will continue to pay 19% corporation tax.

• From 2023, a corporation tax taper will be introduced for companies with profits of more than £50,000, with companies making profits greater than £250,000 taxed at a 25% rate.

• Current rules allow trading losses to be carried back one year without restriction, this will be extended to three years, with certain limits, to help support the cashflow of businesses. Read more

• From 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023, companies investing in qualifying new plant and machinery assets will be able to claim a 130% ‘super-deduction’ capital  on qualifying plant and machinery investments, a 50% first-year allowance for qualifying special rate assets.

Help to grow schemes

New UK-wide management programme. SMEs in the UK will be able to apply to take advantage of a 12-week business school programme to upskill managers. 90% of course fees will be funded by the government.

There will also be a digital scheme, which aims to help 100,000 SMEs by supporting the adaptation of productivity-enhancing software. The scheme will include free impartial online advice and cover up to half of the costs of approved software, up to a maximum of £5,000.

We will update members when more information is available about these schemes.

Ongoing Covid-19 support

Coronavirus job support scheme (CJRS) has been extended to September 2020.  Employers who continue to use the scheme will be asked to contribute 10% in July and 20% in August and September.

Self-employment income support scheme (SIESS) will pay two more grants.

• The February to April grant will be worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500. HMRC will provide a personal claim date from mid-April. The grant must then be claimed between this date and 31‌‌ ‌May 2021 at the latest.
• The May to September grant will be more targeted. People whose turnover has fallen by 30% or more will continue to receive the full grant, capped at £7,500. People whose turnover has fallen by less than 30% will receive a 30% grant, capped at £2,850. This can be claimed from late July. Details on the exact process are to be confirmed in due course.

Small and medium-sized employers in the UK will continue to be able to reclaim up to two weeks of eligible Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) costs per employee from the Government.

Read more

Read HM Treasury Budget 2021: What you need to know

Access full Budget 2021 documentation