Prescription charges, water bills, road tax: price increases from today
Here is a round-up of the main changes which come into force from the beginning of April that will impact your money.
A variety of scheduled changes will come into force from 1st April that will impact your money.
Here are the main ones you should know about.
NHS prescription charges
The NHS prescription charge in England will increase by 20p from £7.85 to £8.05 from 1st April.
However, the cost of a prescription prepayment certificate (PCC) will be frozen.
The three-month certificate will cost £29.10, while the annual certificate will remain at £104.
Those that need four or more items over a three month period or 13 or more items in one year will benefit from getting a PCC.
England is the only part of the UK where patients have to pay for prescriptions. In 2011, Scotland joined Wales and Northern Ireland in removing charges for medicines.
NHS dental charges
NHS dental charges are also going up from the beginning of April.
A Band 1 course of treatment, which includes an examination, diagnosis (including X-rays), advice as well as a scale and polish if needed will increase by 50p from £18 to £18.50.
A Band 2 course of treatment which covers everything from Band 1 plus any further treatment like fillings, root canal or the removal of teeth will increase by £1.50 from £49 to £50.50.
And a Band 3 course of treatment which covers everything from Bands 1 and 2 plus crowns, dentures and bridges is going up by £5 from £214 to £219.
Water and sewerage bills
Water and sewerage bills will rise by an average of 2% from 1st April in England and Wales.
The rise equates to an average of £8, which brings the average bill for 2014/2015 to £393.
The biggest rise comes from Thames Water which is imposing a 3.4% increase for water and sewerage, adding £12 onto the yearly cost.
Meanwhile those supplied by South West will see their annual bill drop by £17 (or 3%) thanks to a Government contribution to keep bills down.
Unfortunately unlike other utilities (like gas and electricity and broadband) you can’t choose your water supplier, so you won’t be able to shop around for a better deal.
To see exactly how your bill will change check out Water bills to rise 2%
Vehicle Excise Duty
Vehicle Excise Duty, otherwise known as road tax for cars, vans, motorcycles and trade licenses, will increase in line with the RPI measure of inflation from 1st April.
Only tax on Euro IV and V light goods vehicles will be frozen at 2013 rates.
For cars registered after 1st March 2001 the rise equates to between £5 and £25 a year depending on the CO2 emissions category of the vehicle and whether it is the first time it is being registered or not.
Cars registered before 1st March 2001 are taxed based on engine size, and the charge for these vehicles will go up by £5.
To find out exactly how much road tax you’ll have to pay on your vehicle check out the Gov.uk website which has listed out the new charges.
Air Passenger Duty
Air Passenger Duty is a tax levied on flights from UK airports. The charge depends on the distance from London to the destination’s capital city as well as the class of ticket.
There are four bands labelled A-D.
APD will increase in line with inflation from 1st April 2014 for Band B, C and D flights.
Band B flights (2,001-4,000 miles from London) will rise to £69 (from £67) for economy class travel or £138 (from £134) for premium classes of travel.
Band C flights (4,001-6,000 miles from London) will go up to £85 (from £83) for economy travel and £170 (from £166) for premium travel.
Band D flights (over 6,000 miles from London) will go up to £97 (from £94) for economy tickets and £194 (from £188) for premium tickets.
In the Chancellor’s Spring Budget it was announced that from April 2015 Bands C and D, which covers flights to long haul destinations like Australia and Mexico, will be abolished and those destinations will be charged at Band B rates.
First Utility price rise
First Utility is putting its prices up from the beginning of April.
The average annual cost for a dual fuel customer on its standard iSave Everday tariff will go up by £39 from £1,124 to £1,163.
This will impact 40% or around 130,000 First Utility customers on the variable tariff, however those on fixed price deals won’t be affected.
Compare energy deals with lovemoney.com
It's not just price rises that kick in today though...
Feed-in Tariffs
The Feed-in Tariff scheme is a Government programme to promote small-scale renewable electricity generation by homes, communities or businesses.
The scheme pays participants with an eligible installation a rate for the electricity they generate and a rate for the electricity they export back to the grid.
Tariff rates for PV and Non-PV installations will be adjusted in line with inflation (2.7%) from the beginning of April.
VAT thresholds
From 1st April 2014 the VAT thresholds will change.
The taxable turnover which determines whether a person must be registered for VAT will be increased from £79,000 to £81,000.
The threshold to deregister will be increased from £77,000 to 79,000.
Meanwhile the registration and deregistration threshold for acquisitions from other EU member states will also be increased from £79,000 to £81,000.
NHS optical voucher value
The NHS optical voucher value will rise by 2%.
Optical vouchers are available to children, those on low incomes and people with complex sight problems.
More on household finance:
Tax and benefit changes 2014/15
SSE pledges to freeze energy prices until 2016
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