Rishi vs Martin, Amzn £5, Big Switch ENDS, £1 3 b'band, reclaim £10,000s state pension

Martin: 'What I learnt from grilling the Chancellor over the Budget... and the 10 things you need to know about it'

Stamp duty, tax rises, universal credit, self-employ, ltd co, furlough, mortgage prisoners, carer benefits & more

It may've since been a tad overshadowed by Ms Winfrey's, but my ITV interview with Rishi Sunak did, I hope, also include some revelations.

I'd watched the Chancellor's Wed night press conference, wondering if I'd need to rejig my questions for my interview the next morning, if they'd all been asked. Yet not one was. Their focus was economics - mine, as always, was practical not political, personal not public finance. Do watch the answers from the horse's mouth via the full Me & the Chancellor interview on the ITV Hub. Here are 10 key points from that and the MSE team's diligent research:

1. Income & other tax rises are coming due to freezing thresholds. From this Apr until 2026, the Chancellor is freezing thresholds for income tax (plus capital gains & inheritance tax, the lifetime pensions limit and some national insurance). As avg incomes grow each year, frozen thresholds mean most pay a bigger proportion in tax. See tax changes for a full explanation.

2. Furlough extended to Sept. The state will pay 80% of wages for 5mths longer than planned, though from Jul, employers must contribute 10 percentage pts of that (from Aug, 20%), which sadly may crystallise redundancies. Full furlough extension info.

3. Hurrah. Self-employ grant 4 will assess 2019/20 tax returns, BUT can't be claimed until Apr. The next grant, covering Feb to Apr, will again be for 80% of 3mths' avg profits up to £7,500. Eligibility criteria are unchanged, with two exceptions (see the full MSE 4th SEISS grant briefing for full, detailed info):

- As we campaigned for, 2019/20 tax returns will for the first time be included in the assessment, so 600,000 recent starter self-employed are finally due grants (sadly not backdated - I did try in my interview).
- Avg profits will now be calculated over 4yrs, which will impact what some get.

In answer to why the claim date is so late, in my interview the Chancellor explained it's as the changes take time to process. I pushed back, explaining the difficulties it creates for cash flow, but he didn't budge. I'll continue to lobby.

4. There will be a 5th (and 'final') self-employ grant opening in Jul. Bizarrely, while this will cover May to Sept (5mths by my count), it's only for 3mths' avg profits. Those whose turnover fell by 30%+ in the year to Apr 21 will get 80% of profits; those whose turnover fell by less than 30% get 30% of profits. Full info in our 5th SEISS grant briefing.

5. Me: "Is the door firmly shut? Ltd co directors are not getting any more support?" Chancellor: "Yes". I pushed hard on this, as a representative issue of all the 3m excluded from specific Covid help schemes. I told of the distress people face, and options presented. Yet again, he didn't budge. The door is shut. Watch my ltd co director to & fro with Rishi Sunak.

6. Stamp duty holiday (Eng & NI) extended. Welcome relief for all rushing to complete house purchases - 'no stamp duty on the first £500,000' will now last until end of Jun. After, until Sept it'll be on the first £250,000, until it returns to the normal £125,000 (after June, it's the usual first £300,000 for 1st-time buyers). Full updated info for all UK nations in our  Stamp duty calc.

PS: I did ask the Chancellor whether he, like me, worried that stoking the house price fire was counterproductive for 1st-time buyers and others. His response, talking about the policy as targeted to protect property sector jobs, was eye-opening.

7. New 95% LTV (5% deposit) mortgage scheme. Here the Govt will underwrite the extra risk, so lenders can offer mortgages at 95% loan-to-value (eg, 5% deposit for 1st-time buyers) on properties up to £600,000. From Apr, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Barclays and HSBC will join it. This doesn't mean special mortgages, just more availability. I'd still urge you to push for 10% deposits though, where rates get much cheaper. Full info in 5% mortgage scheme. Related: Cheap mortgage comparison | Free 1st-time buyers' guide |  Free remortgage guide.

8. Universal credit (UC) £20/wk uplift extended to the end of Sept; min income floor removed until Aug. The UC uplift  is extended by 5mths. The extension of the min income floor removal is good news for low-earning self-employed, as until Aug their UC will still depend on what they actually earn, rather than an assumed minimum wage. After that, individual work coaches will still have discretion to remove the floor for some. See min income floor news.

9. Working tax credit recipients get one-off £500, but nowt for disabled/carers. The £500 is to put those on old-style working benefits in a similar position to UC recipients. I questioned the Chancellor about other legacy benefits, incl for carers and those with disabilities, yet he said the boost was targeting only those working. See legacy benefit update .

10. Chancellor commits to looking at helping mortgage prisoners. I've long campaigned for help for the 200,000+ long-term victims of the 2007/08 financial crash who've been locked into hideous-rate mortgages. While nothing concrete came, when I questioned Rishi Sunak the mood music was positive. See Chancellor commits to helping mortgage prisoners.

For more, see our full Budget round-up or watch the full interview on the ITV Hub.

New. The cheapest broadband of the year - just '£13/mth' incl phone line rental and it's from BT-owned Plusnet. How much are you paying?
 

If we've said it once, we've said it 100 times. The way to cut broadband bills is to pounce on short-lived promo deals, which often have cash or voucher incentives. And just launched is the cheapest broadband deal we've seen since last July. It's from Plusnet, which is a subsidiary of BT, and has one of the best customer service feedback ratings of the cheaper firms. If you're one of the millions of people out of contract, it's worth checking now what you pay. Many of you aren't on any faster speeds than this 10Mb deal, but are likely paying around three times as much. If that's you, switch...

Firms can only advertise speeds if 50%+ of customers get that at peak times. All providers above also tell you the estimated max you're likely to get before applying. Do check your current speed  and see our 8 speed boost tips.

Switching usually means about 2hrs of downtime. You're told the switch time in advance and it's often quick.

Engineers won't usually need to visit, though they may with some switches involving Virgin. About 60% of Virgin custs won't need a visit (if in this group, you're told BEFORE signing up). Of the remaining 40%, an engineer may need to visit your home or may just need to visit the local exchange, though you won't know which at sign-up. Some leaving Virgin may need a new line installed if they don't have an Openreach one (it supplies most other firms) - currently that may be delayed as it's prioritising urgent issues, though engineers can visit (obeying social distancing rules) during lockdown.

Be warned, most firms hike prices a little during your contract. If your contract pre-warns you, you're stuck with the rise. If not, most let you leave penalty-free within 30 days - though do check at the time to see if you can beat your current deal, as hikes tend to be small. We've noted in the table above where we know firms plan to raise prices.